Joel Klatt compares one college football QB to Joe Burrow

On Wednesday's edition of The Herd, host Colin Cowherd invited Fox college football analyst Joel Klatt into the show to discuss some of the top quarterbacks in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft as the college season reaches its midway point.

As the two football junkies debated various QBs, Joel Klatt singled out one veteran as a guy that reminds him of LSU's 2019 Heisman winner, national champion and No. 1 pick, Mr. Joe Burrow. That player? The signal caller for a bitter Tiger rival.

"The game Ty Simpson plays directly correlates to the National Football League," Klatt said of the Alabama QB. "He will go in and he will have success. He is a Bo Nix or a Joe Burrow style of guy, where he can make those throws right away with anticipation and accuracy."

Nix is a more reasonable comparison, but the Joe Burrow nod, while lofty, shows just how much respect Joel Klatt has for Ty Simpson and the way he's navigated Alabama back onto the path to the College Football Playoff. He's not the only FBS quarterback that fits Klatt's criteria for a potential top draft pick, either.

"I would also put another guy in there: Fernando Mendoza is going to have a ton of success in the NFL because of what he does from a foundational standpoint," said Klatt. "His accuracy, his anticipation, his intellect."

Cowherd pushes back on Ty Simpson

Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson (15) | David Leong-Imagn Images

Colin Cowherd's preferred No. 1 pick right now is LaNorris Sellers, whose physical traits are appealing compared to Klatt's guy in Simpson.

"Ty Simpson has no juice," he regretfully informed Klatt, who clapped back faster than a gold medal ping pong player.

"No juice?" Klatt questioned. "Watch his intermediate throws, watch him control the game from the pocket. You have to do those things first. This is math. You got to have Algebra 1 under your belt before you can go to Algebra 2 and then Calculus. You got to bake the cake before you put frosting on it."

Simpson may not have crazy "juice" but he does have fundamentals, the importance of which, Klatt explained to Cowherd.

"Colin, who wins Super Bowls?" he quizzed the sports radio veteran. "Guys that control the game from the pocket. The quarterbacks that win the Super Bowl, look at their college careers, look at the style they play. They're experienced."

Ty Simpson is just that: experienced, but also, gritty and smart and fundamentally sound. That's why he's getting the coveted Joe Burrow comparison.