Former Alabama quarterback raves about Ty Simpson and the rest of the Crimson Tide offense
Former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy had great things to say about Ty Simpson and the other signal-callers following Saturday’s scrimmage.
Alabama hasn’t officially named a starting quarterback for the season opener against Florida State, but head coach Kalen DeBoer did lay out a timeline for that decision. By the end of the second scrimmage, which is set for Saturday, the Crimson Tide should know who will be leading them into Tallahassee on Aug. 30.
From everything we were told following the first scrimmage of fall camp, the quarterbacks were able to do several things. First of all, avoid turnovers, which is critical. Ty Simpson and Austin Mack also showed a good command of the offense. Freshman Keelon Russell is still somewhat behind on that front, but that’s to be expected for such a young player.
One person who was in attendance for Saturday’s scrimmage was Greg McElroy. During his show, McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning, on Monday, the 2009 national championship-winning quarterback for Alabama shared some of what he saw from the three signal-callers, starting with Simpson.
“I like what I saw from the quarterbacks this weekend,” McElroy said. “I’ve got to be honest, I didn’t expect them to look as good as they did. I was real optimistic with what I saw. The decisiveness of Ty, getting the ball out, knowing exactly where to go with the football, letting your feet talk to you. I thought he had one bad decision on the entire day. One bad decision, which on practice nine, that’s phenomenal.
“There were two instances in which him and the receiver weren’t on the same page. One, he thought he was gonna go back shoulder. One, he thought the receiver was going downfield. Which by the way, that’s gonna happen Week 10 of the season. That just happens. And then one in the end zone where he thought the receiver was gonna cross face. I think he made the right decision there, receiver made the wrong decision there.
“But either way, like two where he wasn’t on the same page with the receiver. Easy to clean up, and guess what? Always a work in progress there. And then I thought he made the play of the game, play of the day. The best play by a quarterback was made by Ty. I was very impressed. I think he should feel great about where he’s at.”
Obviously, this is encouraging news. You want guys being on the same page, and you want a quarterback that can avoid making mistakes. There’s also a playmaking element to Kalen DeBoer and Ryan Grubb’s offense, but those are where it starts. Simpson has been doing that better than anyone, even dating back to the spring.
We know Simpson also brings that playmaking element though. That’s been a part of his game ever since his high school days, and he’s shown it during his limited time on the field at Alabama. For example, when he managed to break a would-be sack against Mercer in the fourth quarter and rolled out to find tight end Josh Cuevas down the field.
I want you to notice how he wasn’t able to full step up into that throw, and it still traveled 53-54 yards through the air. I wouldn’t say Simpson brings elite arm strength to the table, but it’s well above average, and he’s capable of making any throw that you would ask of him. That ability to break that tackle can create so many opportunities because defenders relax, thinking the play is over.
McElroy didn’t just talk about Simpson though. He was also impressed with Russell and Mack.
“And I think the other two guys should feel good about where they’re at too, because I thought they did a lot of really nice things,” McElroy continued. “Keelon is a freshman, a lot of nice things, a lot of things clean up, a lot of nice things. Austin impressed me a lot with how he threw the ball down the field.”
More than likely, Simpson is going to be Alabama’s starter. With how things are trending after a strong fall camp from Mack, the redshirt sophomore could be the No. 2 with Russell getting time to sit, learn and develop. But as we’ve said many times, the longer the five-star freshman is on campus, the more dangerous he’s going to become as he gets more comfortable and confident.
