Ty Simpson is Glad He Failed in 2023

Tuscaloosa, AL - In the Fall of 2023, Alabama was in the midst of a three-way battle for the starting quarterback position following the departure of Heisman-winner Bryce Young. Simpson was in the thick of things and even got a chance to prove himself against South Florida, in the third game of the season despite starting the year as the third-string quarterback behind Jalen Milroe and Tyler Buchner.

Simpson did not perform to his own standard, despite leading Alabama to a sloppy 17-3 win over the Bulls. He was relegated to being the second-string quarterback, where he saw playing time in mop-up duty when Alabama already had relatively put the game on ice.

In a rare interview with the Crimson Tide Sports Network, Simpson reflected on his shortcomings, "I'm glad that happened. I'm glad I failed," Simpson said. "I glad I didn't play to where I wanted to play, so I can be able to grow and understand like, man, that's water under the bridge. Look where you were then to where you are now."

Simpson has only attempted 35 passes since that fateful day in Tampa, Florida, but feels like he has grown and matured drastically since then.

"I probably wasn't ready as much as I wanted to be, I guess you could say," Simpson said of his playing time at USF. "It kind of caught me off guard. I kind of grew from it. I was immature back then. I was more worried about how people saw me, and how the game should - how I wanted to play the game, instead of how I should play the game.

"I should have just relaxed and played free, and not cared about who cares about what other people think. I should have just taken what they gave me and tried to play the game the way it was supposed to be played, and not tried to make a big statement on who should have been the starter at the beginning of the year or who should have been the starter now, you know what I mean?"

Simpson will be on the sideline for Alabama's final home game of the season this weekend against Auburn. The next time he steps onto Saban Field, it could be as the Crimson Tide's leading signal caller.

"Hopefully next year that will be my job to be the guy," Simpson said.

The most action Simpson has seen this season was earlier in November when Alabama played against the Mercer Bears in a 52-7 victory. Simpson led the Crimson Tide for two drives, completing 5/10 passes for 71 yards.

"I felt like I'm a different player," Simpson said. "I felt like I've grown a lot more. Being able to kind of take those two drives and kind of play free and just play ball, it felt really good. Felt like I was back in high school. Got a lot of confidence back underneath me, and I'm just excited to get more chances."

Simpson believes he is adapting well to Kalen DeBoer's offense with the help of offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan, claiming it allows him to play freer football on the field.

“I think the biggest thing that I’ve really enjoyed is just how much they want you to play,” Simpson said. “My first couple of years I felt, not robotic, but I almost felt like I didn’t play as free because I wanted to do things the exact way… That’s what they’ve really emphasized and kinda told me is ‘Man, just play.’”

Despite not being a major contributor on the field (Simpson has played just 71 snaps this season for the Crimson Tide), he believes he has made strides behind the scenes, focusing on being ready whenever he needs to take the field.

“My job is for the offense not to skip a beat in case something happens to Jalen,” Simpson said. “Whether it’s in practice, in warmups, or anything like that, knowing that the guys have confidence in me that ‘Ok, Jalen is out. We’re going to go down and win the game no matter what, even if Ty’s in.'”

Despite the lack of star time, Simpson feels like he has already stepped into a leadership role with the Crimson Tide's team.

“Me being a quarterback and an older guy as well, my voice is just as much important as [the star players] and just as heard as much as theirs,” Simpson said. “I think it's a job of mine - even though I don't play - that these guys know the standard and know how we do things around here.”

With the presumed departure of Jalen Milroe to the 2025 NFL draft, Simpson will have another chance to compete for the Alabama starting quarterback job. The competition will be stiff, however. The competition will likely start as a four-man race, with Simpson competing against redshirt freshman Austin Mack, redshirt freshman Dylan Lonergan, and true freshman Keelon Russell for the job.