Nick Saban compares Alabama's QB competition to baking a cake

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Alabama head coach Nick Saban kicked off Day 3 of SEC Media Days by addressing the coed of reporters in the main media room inside the Grand Hyatt Nashville.

And one of the biggest questions surrounding the Crimson Tide team is the quarterback position with two-year starter Bryce Young turning pro after the 2022 season. In the spring, Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson battled for the job, but Saban felt it was necessary to add another player to the mix by way of Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner once the spring season wrapped up.

On Wednesday, Saban provided an update on Alabama’s most-discussed competition.

“We have three guys that are competing for that position right now,” Saban said. “All of those players are getting better, and it’s important for us that all those players get better. I don’t think anybody has actually separated themselves yet, and I don’t think it’s something that we are trying to rush.”

Saban compared the quarterback battle to watching his grandmother bake a cake when he was younger. On a related note, he did not hesitate to share his favorite type of cake was carrot.

“Grandma Saban used to bake the best cakes in the world,” Saban said, “and I used to stand by the oven when I was a kid and say, ‘When is this cake going to be done? When is this cake going to be done?’ She said, “If I don’t let it go through and take it out of the oven too soon, it will turn to mush and it won’t be a really good cake.’

“So I think we have to sort of let this develop and make sure we let the cake bake until somebody separates themselves. And all the players are working hard. They all have a good attitude. They are all competing well.”

Milroe and Buchner are entering their third collegiate seasons and each have at least one start under their belts – one for Milroe and three for Buchner, who was the Fighting Irish’s starter last year when he was healthy. Simpson is a redshirt freshman that was the third-string signal-caller during the 2022 campaign but is firmly in the mix for the first-team role this offseason.

Alabama will hit the practice field in August, where the quarterback competition will continue to be at the front of any and all Crimson Tide talk, and Saban was asked about the expectations he has for his quarterback room, which also features Dylan Lonergan and Eli Holstein, this fall.

“We are focusing on how do we develop the players that we have, and we want to develop all the players,” Saban said. “You know, everybody wants to know who the starter is. What about the backup guy who has to go in and play, like Jalen Milroe did last year against Texas A&M, how we finished the Arkansas game? It’s important that all these guys continue to develop, and everybody at that position develops into where they can play winning football.

“I use the cake analogy because it’s not done yet. There’s not a decision that needs to be made at this point in time, nor are we ready to make that decision at this time until somebody separates themselves. But expectations, we want somebody to play winning football at that position. Our quarterback is a unique position in that you distribute the ball on every play, whether you hand it off, whether you choose the play that we run, whether you hand it off or whether you throw an advantaged throw, making decisions in the passing game to throw it to the right guys at the right time and the right place and accurately.

“So who can do that with the most consistency and be a leader on our team who has an impact on the other players is also important, because quarterback may be one of the most difficult positions to play if the people around you don’t play well. So I think that’s a challenge for us, too, is to get the people around our quarterbacks to play well so that it’s a little easier for them to be able to have success at the position when they get the opportunity.”

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