Paul Finebaum names the best quarterback in college football right now

Having this player on the field could change the shape of college football's national championship race.

Paul Finebaum names the best QB in college football through seven weeks | Ken Ruinard / staff, The Greenville News via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Almost two months ago, it was all the rage for college football fans to dump on Alabama after that disastrous season opener. But since then, this has emerged as one of the most impressive teams in the country, and quarterback Ty Simpson is a big reason why.

Paul Finebaum illustrated Simpson’s importance to Alabama’s improvement over the last five straight games, going as far as to call him the best quarterback in the nation.

“That team is playing at such a high level. It starts, I think, with Ty Simpson, and I think we can understand what went wrong that first game. It hasn’t gone that way since, and he’s at this moment, in my mind, the best quarterback in the country,” Finebaum told WJOX Radio in Birmingham.

Simpson, a former five-star prospect in Alabama’s 2022 recruiting class, waited his turn to be named the starter and has so far made the most of the opportunity.

Alabama ranks among the top-dozen most efficient passing attacks, completing 71 percent of passes, ranks first with 20 touchdowns in the air, and Simpson has just one interception all season.

Having a quarterback of such a caliber not only puts your offense in a position to make plays in a given game, but can have the larger effect of elevating the entire program.

Compare where Alabama was and is now, with where Penn State was and is now, for example.

“Just like the situation with Penn State in three weeks has gone from No. 2 to complete disaster, this one, seven weeks ago this morning, felt like there was nowhere to go,” Finebaum added.

In Penn State’s case, former five-star Drew Allar has largely failed to play up to that potential, whereas Simpson has given the Crimson Tide an immediate return.

And for those who were still watching Alabama games after the Week 1 loss at Florida State, the signs of what Simpson and this team were capable of where there to see.

“I’ll give the fans of Alabama credit. For a week or two, I kind of looked the other way when they were telling me about, ‘Man, I was at the game with ULM, and I was at the game with Wisconsin,’ and they were right,” Finebaum said. 

“Whatever happened, and books may be written about it if Alabama continues to go on this path, is one of the most remarkable coaching turnarounds in terms of top down, to the assistants, to the rest of the staff, to the players, I have ever seen.”

--