Nick Saban says quarterback competition is 'sort of taking shape,' says first game is 'not the end of it'

Alabama has more than week to go until it lifts the curtain on the 2023 season, but the quarterback competition is still going strong. The three quarterbacks continue to vie to replace Bryce Young as the starter, and Nick Saban indicated the battle is taking some turns.

However, he made one thing clear. Just because one quarterback starts the opener, doesn’t mean he’ll stay the starter in the long-term.

Saban reiterated his challenge to the three quarterbacks — Tyler Buchner, Ty Simpson and Jalen Milroe — to force him to make a decision. But while many fans want to know an answer for the first game, he said that won’t mean the competition is over. In fact, in Saban’s eyes, the battle would just be beginning.

“Like I said in here before, I told the quarterbacks, I said quit looking around for me to make a decision about who’s going to play. How about you play and good enough that I don’t have a choice?” Saban said Wednesday. “That’s what you can control. That’s what you can do, and somebody needs to do that. And it’s sort of taking shape to some degree, but somebody’s somebody’s got to do it.

“Where you all think that whoever we name is a starter for the first game, that’s like the end of it. It’s not the end of it. It’s just the beginning. What if a guy doesn’t play good? He’s not entitled to keep playing. And the guy that doesn’t play has got every opportunity to practice and be more consistent and win the team over so that when he gets an opportunity to play, he plays really well. I mean, we have changed quarterbacks around here a few times during the season. So I know you guys are looking for an end, but it’s not even going to be the end in the first game.”

The quarterback competition isn’t just about making sure the quarterbacks are ready, though. It’s also about the whole team lifting the starter up and helping the entire team win games.

“We’re gonna make the best of it for our team,” Nick Saban said. “And our team has to make the best of it, as well. Whoever plays the position, everybody’s got to play while around them and do the best job that they can to help them play well.”

It sounds like fans will have to wait a little longer to find out who Alabama’s starting quarterback will be. The Crimson Tide still have a little bit before the season starts Sept. 2 against Middle Tennessee State.