As Ty Simpson won the Alabama football starting quarterback competition, there is no doubt some immense expectations in leading a highly successful program. While fans give their predictions for how Simpson will play for the Alabama football team, former head coach Nick Saban would also provide his thoughts on the junior signal-caller.
Saban would appear on “The Pat McAfee Show” and was asked about Simpson since the former head coach brought major accolades to the Crimson Tide. Plus, it's important to know that Saban recruited Simpson, spending two seasons with each other before the coach would retire, as he called the Tennessee-native a “great young man.”
“I think Ty is a great young man who has, and I have all the respect in the world for these guys who stay in the program for three years, develop, wait their turn, and I think that’s the thing Ty has done extremely well,” Saban said.
He would also speak on where Simpson had to improve, which is not giving too much credit to the outcome of a performance.
“They create these expectations for themselves, and when they don’t live up to them, they get frustrated very easily, and that body language is not good for a quarterback,” Saban said. “It’s not good for a team. That’s the big thing Ty has had to sort of work his way through, not get affected by a bad play, stay focused on the next play, because he’s got all the talent in the world.”
Nick Saban continues to praise Alabama football's Ty Simpson
As the Alabama football team has been developing the quarterback, it has all led up to this moment where Simpson will be under center to start the season. He has had minimal experience in games, not throwing for more than 25 passes in a season, with this upcoming year likely to be the first full season for the junior.
Despite the limited on-the-field work, Simpson has made an impact on the sidelines and in the locker room, as Saban called him a “good leader.”
“He’s a good leader,” Saban said. “So it will be interesting to see how he can maintain the consistency in performance that defines success by not getting affected by ups and downs in a game.”
Other aspects that Saban highlighted about Simpson were his accuracy when throwing the football, the decision-making, and especially his ability on the ground, saying that his “legs are real.” At any rate, Simpson will make his first start for the Crimson Tide on Saturday against the Florida State Seminoles on the road.
