Greg McElroy explains why he leans Ty Simpson in Alabama QB competition

Greg McElroy knows what it takes to be a starting quarterback at Alabama under Nick Saban. A former Crimson Tide QB himself who led Alabama to a national championship in 2010, McElroy offered his thoughts on the current battle this offseason between Ty Simpson, Jalen Milroe and Tyler Buchner.

The ESPN analyst predicted at SEC Media Days this week that Simpson will ultimately win the job. Later in an appearance on The Hard Count with On3‘s JD PicKell, McElroy detailed his reasoning.

He began by explaining why Milroe might still be in Saban’s doghouse given his turnover issues this past season. Although Milroe led the Crimson Tide to a 24-20 victory against Texas A&M in his lone start of 2022, he fumbled twice and threw and interception.

“I think Jalen Milroe is a tremendous talent,” McElroy said. “I think he’s a gifted football player. The explosiveness goes without saying. The guy’s ridiculous. Just get him the ball and see what he does with it. But there was a problem last year with turnovers and it wasn’t just the A&M game. In 16 offensive turnovers for Alabama last year, he accounted for five of them. Having played in that offense and lived life under Nick Saban, he doesn’t forget those things very easily. So I do think he’ll have to work his way back into the good graces when it comes to ball security.”

A former five-star recruit, Simpson ranked as the No. 25 overall player and No. 2 quarterback in the 2022 class according to the On3 Industry Rating, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He appeared sparingly in four games this past season while taking a redshirt year.

But even with Simpson’s limited experience, McElroy still believes he’ll have an edge over Buchner, who transferred this offseason from Notre Dame. The ESPN analyst pointed to a 2014 Alabama quarterback battle in which Blake Sims beat out Florida State transfer Jake Coker, saying Simpson could have the support of his teammates because he has been around the program longer.

“Tyler Buchner’s been there for a very short period of time,” McElroy explained. “It’s very difficult to win the team in that short period of time. I remember back in 2014, Jake Coker transferred up from Florida State and he was supposed to be the guy. He just lost out to Jameis Winston in a great quarterback competition. Then there was this guy that was also on the team and Blake Sims had been there for four years and developed relationships with guys on the roster. So when it was close in fall camp, the guys naturally gravitated to the guy that they knew and that was Blake Sims. Ended up having a good year and Coker comes in in ’15 and wins a national championship, but he had to wait his turn for a year.

“So I think when I look at those two aspects and a guy like Ty Simpson, it’s not like he was a guy that was underrecruited or is an underachieving guy. He just hasn’t had the opportunity yet.”

Ultimately, McElroy said he believes Alabama could play multiple quarterbacks in its season opener against Middle Tennessee. But by the time Week 2 against Texas rolls around, he sees Simpson taking the reigns.

I think with where the offense is going, it’s gonna be a premium on decision-making. A premium on distributing the ball accurately from the pocket, off play-action, back to the defense off play-action, that’s where I think the offense is going. I think he, at this point, is best-suited to be able to run that at the highest possible level. I think they’re gonna ultimately go with a little bit of a derby in the first game. Then come Texas time, they’re gonna have their guy. My guess, as of now, I think it’s gonna be Ty Simpson.”