Greg McElroy: How Ty Simpson's skill set fits into Tommy Rees' offensive philosophy

New Alabama offensive coordinator Tommy Rees’ biggest task is to work with Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson at the top of the quarterback room.

At least, those are the projected top two contenders for the Crimson Tide starting gig. Former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy evaluated how Simpson’s skill set fit into Rees’ offensive philosophy.

He joined J.D. PicKell on The Hard Count and discussed what Rees brought over from Notre Dame.

“I think it’s a very fair parallel to draw,” McElroy said. “Just seeing what Tommy Rees has gone with in the past, obviously, last year with Drew Pyne, but it’s important to recall that Drew Pyne was at the starter coming out of fall camp. That designation went to Tyler Buchner, who is more like Ty Simpson than he is Drew Pyne. Being a guy that’s going to heavily emphasize the run game in its own right and has a lot of raw horsepower. 

“And then you look back to Ian Book. Ian Book I thought was a very under-appreciated player, did a lot of little things, was a much more effective runner than people would probably remember. So I think when you look at what Tommy Rees was as a player, you naturally draw inclinations he wants to kind of lean more into the prototypical pocket passer that’s going to be able to get in and out or run checks, be able to get in and out of run the pass audibles and adjustments like that.”

However, McElroy paused a bit when it came to Rees implementing those exact things for Simpson at Alabama. He mentioned the Nick Saban factor.

“Those are all possibilities and those are all things that he’s leaned on in the past, but I don’t think that’s going to be carbon copy of what he’s going to be at Alabama,” McElroy said. “When you become the OC at Alabama, you learn the offense that Nick Saban knows and you implement your own plays with that vernacular.”

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As a member of the Class of 2022, Simpson was a five-star recruit out of Martin (Tenn.) Westview, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 2 overall prospect in the state, the No. 2 quarterback in the class and the No. 25 overall prospect in the class.