How has Ty Simpson navigated Alabama football quarterback battle? I asked his dad

How has Ty Simpson navigated Alabama football quarterback battle? I asked his dad

When Jason Simpson watched his son walk off the bus and into Bryant-Denny Stadium for Alabama football’s A-Day practice, Ty Simpson was walking with one of his competitors.

Ty Simpson, the redshirt junior quarterback, walked with Keelon Russell, the freshman quarterback and five-star phenom, into his first Crimson Tide spring game. And as both approached the stadium, Jason Simpson saw his son whisper something to Russell.

“I asked (Ty) later, ‘What did you tell him as y’all were walking in?’” Jason Simpson told the Tuscaloosa News. “He said, ‘I was just telling him, hey, this is a spring game. You got to see it on game day how awesome this place is.’”

Ty Simpson knows what an offseason quarterback battle looks like. He’s been there. He’s done that. With that experience in tow, Simpson left as the leader in the clubhouse.

“At the end of the day, if we’re playing a football game tomorrow, Ty Simpson would start,” Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said Monday. “And he earned that, okay? And I know that’s the line everybody’s looking for, but that is what he earned.”

As a dad, Jason Simpson is not surprised by Grubb’s proclamation. Jason Simpson has confidence in Ty, the Alabama quarterback who has been there, who’s been loyal, and who has put everything into being Alabama’s next quarterback.

But as Jason Simpson, the UT Martin football coach, he also knows Alabama is not his team. It’s not his program. He has his own quarterback battle to deal with.

Jason Simpson, describing himself as Ty Simpson’s number one fan and number one critic, knows what his son’s summer looks like before Alabama’s quarterback battle ramps back up in August.

“I think you have to be yourself,” Jason Simpson said. “But now, when it becomes your turn, the torch gets passed on and there’s responsibilities you have to be comfortable with.”