Ty Simpson Reveals What Alabama Was Missing Last Season originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe is now in the NFL, which means the program will have a new face under center in 2025.
Ty Simpson was named Alabama’s starting quarterback following spring practice and spoke at the Manning Passing Academy on Friday.
Per Roll Tide Wire’s Steve Holley, Simpson felt that the Alabama standard was not there in 2024. Simpson voiced his frustrations about the Crimson Tide’s 9-4 record last season and how hard the team has been working in the offseason.
Simpson has been with the program since 2022 and has been under the guidance of head coaches Nick Saban and now Kalen DeBoer.
“I just feel like we’re a very close group,” Simpson said. “Everybody hangs out with everybody when we don’t have football going on, and I feel like we’re hungry and have a chip on our shoulder. The Alabama Standard wasn’t (there) last year, losing three or four games, and we understand that. This offseason has been very, very hard, one of the hardest ones out of my four years there at ‘Bama. We understand that, hey, we need to bring this physicality back in the Alabama Way. So that’s what we’re trying to do and what our plan is in this upcoming season.”
Simpson has the most experience compared to Keelon Russell and Austin Mack. Simpson has played in 16 games, while Mack has one from last season. Russell has no prior game experience after just arriving on campus from the 2025 class.
Both Simpson and Russell were five-star prospects from their respective classes. Mack transferred in from the Washington Huskies last season.
While the standard has not been there for Alabama, recruiting has been consistent under DeBoer. The Crimson Tide recently received a prediction to land five-star linebacker Xavier Griffin. Four-star edge rusher commit Jamarion Matthews just declared that he was shutting down his recruitment and sticking with Alabama.
Alabama’s 2025 season opener is against the Florida State Seminoles on August 30. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
Related: Alabama Dealt Unfortunate Recruiting News on Saturday
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 29, 2025, where it first appeared.