Nick Saban explains where Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson stand in ongoing QB competition

A good old-fashioned quarterback battle is taking place in Tuscaloosa, with Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson competing for the starting spot. Alabama is looking to replace Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young but more importantly, get back into the national championship hunt. Head coach Nick Saban will have a tough decision ahead of him as to which QB helps his team out the most.

For now, development continues to be the key for Saban. He is not going to declare a winner anytime soon, with the season opener not being until early September. Saban is looking for both Milroe and Simpson to improve over the upcoming months so Alabama can get back to winning ways.

“Well, both of the guys are working hard,” Saban said to ESPN’s Heather Dinich during an interview on Wednesday’s SportsCenter. “The most important thing is that they can stay focused on what they need to do to improve their ability to play winning football at the position.

“Which, is an important position because they distribute the ball to someone every play. So, it’s an important position. They’re both guys that have talent and we just have to try to help them develop and focus on the things they need to do to play winning football.”

BamaInsider’s Clint Lamb weighed in on Saban’s comment, using Ohio State head coach Ryan Day for reference.

“I believe Ryan Day said it best in a recent statement regarding Ohio State’s ongoing quarterback competition,” said Lamb. “‘The quarterback doesn’t need to be superhuman, he just needs to make the routine plays routinely.’ I know that statement might feel contradictory to what Alabama asked of Bryce Young at times over the past two years, but it feels like the Tide are doing more this offseason to at least take some of the pressure off their signal-callers.

“New offensive coordinator Tommy Rees puts more of an emphasis on an effective run game, which should take pressure off of Alabama’s defense. The goal will then be to combine those two things in order to alleviate pressure on the quarterback. Georgia did a nice job surrounding Stetson Bennett with those same elements over the past two years, and the back-to-back national titles speak for themselves.

“Don’t get me wrong, your quarterback is still your quarterback. As with any team eyeing a national title run, Alabama needs that position to make plays if it wants to avoid a third-straight season without a championship, but whoever starts won’t have the same Superman-type pressure as Young did at times throughout his college career.

“In other words, I don’t think this competition is limited to which guy can go do the most things to win Alabama games. That’s not the only thing Saban means when he says ‘play winning football at the position.’ With all the surrounding talent and resources in Tuscaloosa, it’s equally as important for the starter to avoid doing the things that’s going to risk losing Alabama games. Limiting turnovers, making good decisions and playing complementary football will be key for whoever comes out on top in this competition.”

Of the two, Milroe has more experience than Simpson. He started a game against Texas A&M this past season when Young went down with an injury. Alabama was able to get a win and at the time, keep their undefeated record.

Saban is throwing the start out the window, though. He said Milroe is still going to have to compete at a high level in order to earn the job. Early in spring practice, both Milroe and Simpson have had positive mindsets according to their head coach.

“I think Jalen does have some experience,” Saban said. “But it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish. So, it’s a competition and both guys need to do the things that they need to do to improve. Both guys have had a great attitude so far. We’re excited about what we can do to help them do that.”

Milroe and Simpson still have a long way to go in the competition. We may not know the winner until the last moment, as we did in 2018 with Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa. Saban is going to keep his thought internal for the most part and watch the two signal callers develop through September.