What Nick Saban said about Ty Simpson at QB before Alabama football’s first game

By Matt Stahl |
The youngest of Alabama football’s three candidates for starting quarterback in 2023 is Ty Simpson. The redshirt freshman threw just five passes for the Crimson Tide last season before entering the competition for the starting job with Jalen Milroe and Tyler Buchner this offseason.
Nick Saban still hasn’t named a starting quarterback for Saturday’s season opener. When about Simpson’s development on Wednesday, he praised the youngster, along with the rest of the position group.
“Ty has done a really good job,” Saban said in his final press conference before the season begins. “I think all the quarterbacks have made significant improvement, I think Ty’s made an improvement. I think one of the hardest things to not get involved with is to be outcome-oriented and show your emotions when things don’t go exactly like you want them to and that’s one of the things I think has helped all of our quarterbacks, especially Ty.”
It’s likely that Alabama’s starter won’t be officially known until one of them runs out to take the first snap at Bryant-Denny Stadium against Middle Tennessee State on Saturday. Saban opted not to release a depth chart at all before game day, noting that it could sow discord among his team.
Saban went on to explain how he wanted the group to develop throughout the competition.
“Mistakes are opportunities to learn, get better, grow,” Saban said. “And not get disappointed or frustrated in terms of how it affects the next play. And that’s something (Simpson’s) done a really good job of and I think it’s impacted his execution in a really positive way.”
Saban has said throughout the preseason that he doesn’t want the quarterback competition to end with a named starter.
“That’s not the end of it,” Saban said last Wednesday. “It’s just the beginning. What if a guy doesn’t play good? He’s not entitled to keep playing. And the guy that doesn’t play got every opportunity to practice and be more consistent and win the team over so that when he gets an opportunity to play, he plays really well. We have changed quarterbacks around here a few times during the season.”
Alabama and MTSU are scheduled to kick off at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. The game will be aired on the SEC Network.