‘He ripped our a**’: Alabama star describes how team’s leadership has inspired a change for Crimson Tide
The Alabama Crimson Tide is one of the hottest tickets in all of college football. Between Ty Simpson leading the program into a huge matchup against Tennessee and Ryan Grubb boasting about the challenge Alabama gives him, it’s all good vibes in Tuscaloosa right now. And massive left tackle Kadyn Proctor was willing to pull […]
The Alabama Crimson Tide is one of the hottest tickets in all of college football. Between Ty Simpson leading the program into a huge matchup against Tennessee and Ryan Grubb boasting about the challenge Alabama gives him, it’s all good vibes in Tuscaloosa right now. And massive left tackle Kadyn Proctor was willing to pull the curtain back a little bit as to what has changed for the Tide.
After beating Missouri, Simpson could’ve continued to ride the wave. Instead, he went the opposite way. Proctor said Simpson went on the offensive to make sure the team lives up to its potential.
“It brings us with him. As he wants to improve on his past game, he brings us along,” said Proctor. “He’s just a great leader, speaks all the time. Ripped our ass when we were in the team meeting yesterday. He knows how to get us riled up, and he’s a great leader. He’s one of the best I’ve ever been around.”
Ty Simpson offers new style of motivation for Alabama Crimson Tide
While Alabama has won three straight games against top-25 ranked teams, the offense was bogged down a bit against Missouri. Proctor and the unit felt the issues, and want to make sure they nip those stalled drives in the bud.
“I just feel like he’s hungry, and he brings us along, too,” Proctor said. “He encourages us in the lifts and in the meetings and everything, even one-on-one things. Just me and him and Parker (Brailsford) going out to lunch yesterday, just talking about the things that we need to do to improve. So, he’s one of the best leaders that I’ve ever been around, and I’m proud of where he’s at right now, and I know he’s gonna strive to be the best that he can every week.”
Proctor added that Simpson’s words emphasized “That we need to be better. We still haven’t played a full game as an offensive line, as a quarterback, as any position. We haven’t played a shutout game, which is hard to do, but that’s what is expected of us.”
Simpson, who is a worthy Heisman Trophy candidate despite throwing for only 200 yards last week, has embraced what it takes to push harder and further in order to help the Tide return to the College Football Playoff. Simply winning isn’t enough, as improvement is necessary.
“I think it’s gonna stay between the offense, but I just kind of told it how it was, how I felt as a leader,” Simpson said. “It’s my job to make sure that I get the best out of the guys, and I get the best out of myself. And I just felt like the last couple of games we hadn’t executed very well in some things. So, I just wanted to make sure that the guys understand what the standard is here, and what the standard is of this offense.”
It’s not all about being so intense, though. Simpson added that he toned down the intensity after making his big spiel. He knows the team needs balance, and that was his moment to light a fire before a big week of practice.
“No, that’s just chill time,” Proctor said of lunch time after Simpson’s speech. “That’s the downtime. You gotta have some of that to build those bonds as the week goes on and the season rolls around.”
