Alabama OC Ryan Grubb reveals frontrunner in QB competition

Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb signaled quarterback Ty Simpson is the leader in the clubhouse when it comes to being the starter. No, this is not The Masters, but Simpson might’ve earned the job, at least to this point.

Nothing is finalized, but Grubb mentioned Simpson would start if they had to play a game. If that’s not an indication of where Alabama is in that department, then we don’t know what is!

“If we’re playing a football game tomorrow, Ty Simpson would start,” Grubb said, via BamaOnline’s Charlie Potter. Simpson is in competition with Austin Mack and freshman Keelon Russell.

With that in mind, Paul Finebaum joined SportsCenter to shed some light on the competition. He believes it’s essential for the Crimson Tide to find their quarterback and quick, as there’s a ton riding on this coming season for the program.

“I think the most interesting one is in Tuscaloosa,” Finebaum said, evaluation quarterback competitions around the nation on Saturday. “Alabama is trying to figure out who takes Jalen Milroe’s place. You know the history on Alabama quarterbacks in recent years. They’ve had [Tua] Tagovailoa. They’ve had Mac Jones. They’ve had Bryce Young. Last year they had Milroe. They’ve all been candidates for the Heisman. Right now, they don’t know.

“Ty Simpson has been around a couple of years. Austin Mack came over from Washington with the head coach Kalen DeBoer. The one everybody is excited about is Keelon Russell. He’s a brand new freshman. He’s a five-star. But the problem is we don’t know, and that’s not a good sign for Alabama.

“They had a tough season last year. They missed the Playoff. At Alabama, that’s time to call for the coach’s head, even though it was only his first year, and he beat the No. 1 team in the country at the time in Georgia. So, there’s a lot of angst in Tuscaloosa right now.”

If Mack has support, as ESPN’s Chris Low suggests, Simpson better watch his “six,” since Mack is right on his tail. Perhaps the intriguing part of this is Russell making some noise, despite being a freshman for Alabama.

Time will tell if Simpson can definitely take over from Jalen Milroe, or if he loses his lead over the next couple of months. Regardless, expectations are high in Tuscaloosa, but that’s the status-quo for the Crimson Tide.

Stephen Samra contributed to this report