Kalen DeBoer has decided who will lead his team at quarterback in 2025. It will be redshirt junior Ty Simpson.
Simpson was long considered the favorite to win the job going back to last season when it was expected that Jalen Milroe would head off to the NFL. The new Crimson Tide signal caller is a former five-star prospect in the class of 2022 and a top-30 player in the nation, per 247Sports. After three seasons of biding his time, he’s finally earned his shot as the starter.
While this will be Simpson’s first season as the starter, it will be DeBoer’s second year as head coach at Alabama. Having the daunting task of following the greatest coach to ever live in Nick Saban already hasn’t been easy, though.
DeBoer’s first year in Tuscaloosa was a bit of a rocky one, finishing 9-4 with the Tide missing the College Football Playoff for only the third time since its inception back in 2014 — despite the field expanding to 12 teams.
The expectations in Tuscaloosa are too grand for that to happen in back-to-back years. Can DeBoer lead Alabama back to the playoff behind his new quarterback? Let’s get into our Ty Simpson bold predictions for the 2025 season.
Ty Simpson will throw for at least 4,000 yards, 30 touchdowns
DeBoer has been known to get the absolute best out of his quarterbacks. In his first stint as an FBS coach at Fresno State, Jake Haener threw for 4,096 yards, 33 touchdowns and nine interceptions. That wasn't DeBoer’s and Haener’s first season together, but the COVID season is an outlier. Haener threw for just 2,021 yards, 14 touchdowns and five interceptions in just six games.
Going to Washington in 2022, DeBoer eventually turned an injury-prone Michael Penix Jr. into a first-round pick. In his first season with the Huskies, Penix threw for 4,641 yards, 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions. His second season, those numbers grew to 4,903 yards, 36 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, while he became a Heisman finalist.
Jalen Milroe didn't live up to these sort of numbers last season and was wildly inconsistent. He threw for 2,844 yards, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Although Simpson hasn’t exactly had a ton of experience just yet, he has been able to learn under DeBoer’s system for a full year leading into this season. With talented skill position players around him, like Ryan Williams to throw to, a 4,000-plus yard season with 30 or more touchdowns is more than realistic.
Ty Simpson will rush for at least 300 yards or more
DeBoer has been able to utilize his quarterbacks by mostly keeping them in the pocket, though his system does allow room for them to make plays with their feet. For Penix, it was about keeping him healthy. Penix had all the capabilities to make plays out of the pocket, but simply chose not to.
This is where Milroe made up for his passing inconsistencies last season. He rushed for 726 yards and 20 more scores. Simpson may not put up those kinds of numbers on the ground this year, but he can and will still make plays with his feet.
For his senior season in high school, Simpson rushed for over 1,200 yards and 15 touchdowns. But again, that’s probably not where DeBoer will want to utilize him. Simpson could turn out to be that happy medium DeBoer is looking for in a quarterback — someone who can make plays out of the pocket when it’s necessary.
Simpson will lead at least 1-2 game-winning drives against top-25 teams
We’re going back to more Penix comparisons here for Simpson. Penix’s 2023 season was a memorable one, leading the Huskies on a magical run that included several late game-winning drives. One of those came in a top-10 matchup against Oregon at home.
He essentially did that twice, with the other coming against the Ducks in the Pac-12 Championship. There were also other close games where Penix had to take over, helping lead Washington to narrow victories.
It’s easy to believe that could be a role Simpson will take on this season. Alabama is currently slated to face five top-25 opponents, including two in the top 10 in Georgia and LSU, with the Bulldogs coming on the road. Facing a 13th-ranked South Carolina could be the ultimate test for Simpson, however, as Williams-Brice Stadium is one of the more hostile environments in the SEC.
Simpson helps Alabama reach College Football Playoff
Missing the College Football Playoff two out of the last three years is not something Alabama fans are used to. And with more opportunities to become a playoff team now, DeBoer has to hope that Simpson is the guy who helps get them back there in 2025.
If not, Alabama fans are sure to start calling for DeBoer’s head.
The good news for Simpson is that this isn’t DeBoer and his staff’s first season, outside of new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. But even there, there’s familiarity, with Grubb and DeBoer having worked together at their previous stops.
The other good news is that the roster around Simpson is strong enough to potentially make up for any early mistakes. Simpson can definitely help lead this Alabama team back to the playoff.
