Identifying biggest question for Alabama's starting quarterback

The question in Tuscaloosa heading into fall camp remains — Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson or Tyler Buchner?

For Alabama head coach Nick Saban, he has a decision to make sooner rather than later. On3’s JD PicKell put himself in Saban’s shoes for a moment to figure out what he should be looking for in his starting quarterback.

“If I’m Nick Saban — can I trust you as the starting quarterback at Alabama? Can I trust you not to make the big play, but to make the right play?” PicKell asked.

Jalen Milroe is a viable option, as he has experience sitting directly behind Bryce Young, and ended up being No. 2 on the depth chart last season having finished the 2022 season totaling 297 yards on 31-of-53 passing with five touchdowns and three interceptions.

He also contributed 31 rushes for 263 yards and one score to give him the most experience in Saban’s system out of the three. Still, PicKell wants more out of him.

“For Jalen Milroe, without question, he has the most potential to make big plays,” PicKell said of Milroe. “The other side of that, he has potential for the biggest play offensive, and the biggest play defensively.

“… Extremely gifted, but when you look at where Alabama was a year ago, they turned the ball over 16 times over the course of the season. Jalen Milroe was responsible for five of those bad boys…. The trust factor with Milroe consistently making the right plays, I wonder how that shakes out.”

While Milroe is the most experienced of the bunch, the other two options for Nick Saban aren’t unattractive. Buchner joined the team after spring training and is still adjusting to the Crimson Tide’s system and style, while Simpson has the smallest sample size of the bunch. That’s not necessarily a bad thing — as PicKell believes Simpson has the potential to take on a bigger role later in the season if he doesn’t win the QB battle out of fall camp.

“I think the ability is there, I think he will do what is asked of him as the quarterback at Alabama,” PicKell said of Simpson. “Does he win the Heisman Trophy? I don’t know, I don’t think the offense is meant to be built through him. But he will do what is required of him … and by Texas (Sept. 9), he will be your starting quarterback.”

PicKell seems fairly confident that Simpson is the quarterback of the future, or at least for the 2023 season, for Alabama. However, whether or not he can be a game changer, or a game manager remains to be seen.