Kalen DeBoer has found a replacement for Jalen Milroe.
No. 8 Alabama named junior Ty Simpson its starting quarterback on Monday night. Simpson will lead the Crimson Tide in their season opener against Florida State on Aug. 30.
Simpson and the rest of the team were told about the decision during a meeting on Monday, according to ESPN’s Chris Low. He beat out redshirt sophomore Austin Mack and freshman Keelon Russell for the job.
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Simpson is in his fourth year with the Crimson Tide, and he has spent the past two seasons as the backup. Milroe won the starting job over Simpson last season. Simpson stepped in for Milroe briefly during the 2023 campaign during their matchup with South Florida. He went 5-of-9 for 73 yards and ran in a 1-yard touchdown to help lead Alabama to the 17-3 win after being tied up at halftime. Milroe returned and closed out the rest of the year after that week.
Simpson has largely led the quarterback battle in the lead up to the season. He appeared to stand out during the Crimson Tide’s first preseason scrimmage last weekend, and DeBoer had said previously that Simpson would be the team’s starter earlier this offseason if he had to make a decision in the moment.
Simpson was a five-star Rivals.com recruit coming out of high school, and the No. 2 quarterback in his class. He had offers from Clemson and Tennessee before opting to go with Alabama. Simpson’s dad, Jason, has been the head coach at UT Martin since 2006. He’s the longest-tenured coach in the Ohio Valley Conference and holds a 115-87 overall record with four conference titles under his belt.
Alabama went 94 last season, the first under DeBoer after he took over for longtime head coach Nick Saban. It marked the team’s first season without double-digit wins since 2007. The Crimson Tide were ranked No. 8 in the first AP Poll of the season that was released on Monday afternoon. They were one of 10 teams from the SEC, including top-ranked Texas, in the inaugural poll. That's the most ever by a single conference in the preseason poll.
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