Ty Simpson Bided His Time At Alabama And Is Suddenly A Heisman Candidate

The first five words of Ty Simpson’s bio on rolltide.com are, “Waited his turn at quarterback.”

Two things come to mind. First, few college football players are willing to wait for anything these days. Second, Simpson bided his time with the program he committed to in February 2021. Imagine that? He is a redshirt junior who remained in Tuscaloosa and did not make his first career start until this season’s opener at Florida State four-and-a-half years after making that commitment.

Speaking of Florida State, Simpson and the Crimson Tide have rebounded rather nicely from that 31-17 loss on Labor Day weekend, haven’t they? It was a defeat underscored by how noticeably the Seminoles roughed up ‘Bama in the trenches on both sides of scrimmage. Fast-forward to the final Saturday in September and an SEC opener when a Simpson-led offense held the ball for more than more 35 minutes and never trailed in a game that No. 15 in white and crimson finished by taking a knee to run out the clock in a 24-21 win over what was fifth-ranked Georgia.

Simpson threw for 276 yards, two touchdowns and ran for a score while demonstrating a level of poise that precious few opposing quarterbacks have exhibited at Sanford Stadium in recent years. In fact, it was the Bulldogs’ first home loss this decade to snap a 33-game win streak. (UGA’s last defeat between the hedges was almost six years ago: 20-17 in double-overtime on October 12, 2019 versus Will Muschamp’s South Carolina Gamecocks.)

The result is that Alabama is back in the top 10 in one poll. The Tide, who opened the season at No. 8, jumped seven spots to No. 10 in the AP poll while the coaches placed them at No. 11.

True, there is much football to be played. To this point, though, it is difficult not to admire what Simpson has accomplished at the Capstone. An early 2023 win in Tampa against USF was an unsightly affair every which way, including a weather delay. It was also the day Simpson had his most significant playing time prior this season.

Following a 10-point defeat to visiting Texas in Week 2, coach Nick Saban opted to sit Jalen Milroe and go with Tyler Buchner as his starting quarterback against the Bulls. What followed was an offense that had difficulty completing a forward pass – Buchner was 5-for-14 for 34 yards – before Simpson came off the sideline to provide some semblance of competency in a 17-3 win.

The 6-foot-2 Simpson, who through four games has thrown for 11 touchdowns without a pick while placing second in the SEC and 14^th nationally in pass efficiency, entered this season having attempted all of 50 passes in his career. Following his performance against the Bulldogs, the Tennessee native is in the Heisman conversation, and not just on a token basis. That’s what going to Athens and emerging as the victor in a turnover-free performance will do to one’s stock.

In the larger picture, the Crimson Tide will be viewed by how they fare in the SEC and not in a non-conference loss in the season opener against Florida State, as painful as it was. Still, the setback against the ‘Noles — with a QB making his first career start and a head coach in his 14th game after taking over for an icon – gave the Tide what Simpson said was a chip on their shoulders. They took that mindset with them to UGA.

“We said it all week, it’s us against the world,” he remarked in the aftermath of Alabama’s seventh victory in eight games against the Kirby Smart-coached Dawgs. “When we walked between the hedges, it was us against the world. That’s the kind of mentality we have to have throughout the season. It’s Alabama versus everybody.”

Next up among everybody else is a visit from No. 16 Vanderbilt at Bryant-Denny to get the month of October underway. Nobody in Tuscaloosa needs to be reminded what happened in Nashville last year.