Nick Saban details how Alabama divides reps for its three quarterbacks

Alabama head coach Nick Saban compared the Crimson Tide’s quarterback battle to baking a cake earlier this week at SEC Media Days but confirmed what many believed once the school added a player at the position via the transfer portal – the competition is a three-man race.

Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson were the top contenders during spring practice, but Alabama lured Notre Dame transfer Tyler Bucher to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to add a third challenger to the mix. With six weeks until the 2023 opener, none of them have separated themselves as the starter behind center, but Saban discussed how the Tide will – and has been – splitting up their reps.

“We’ve been working through that all summer, actually,” said Saban in a Wednesday interview with SiriusXM. “We usually take two guys, put two other guys together and rotate them every two workouts, and we’ll probably have to continue to do that for a while until somebody sort of separates themselves. And it’s up to the players to do that.”

Milroe and Simpson were on campus for the spring and capped an up-and-down spring with an A-Day Game outing that left the starting quarterback position still up for grabs. While there were drops by their intended targets, Milroe and Simpson combined to complete 31-of-63 passes and threw three interceptions. It was a spring and spring game that led to the coaching staff bringing in Buchner, who elected to reunite with his former offensive coordinator, Tommy Rees.

The former Fighting Irish quarterback started three games a season ago and missed time due to an injury. He will look to clean up the miscues, throwing more interceptions (5) than touchdowns in 2022, but taking care of the football is something all three signal-callers must do to win the job either in preseason camp or at the start of the 2023 campaign. In his discussion with SiriusXM, Saban continued with the quarterbacks’ development and what he still wants to see.

“We’re coaching them every day,” Saban said. “We’re trying to help them in any way we can. I think they’re all improving, they’ve all made tremendous progress. Ty Simpson, Jalen, Tyler, all of them have made progress. But who is going to step up and play winning football at the position?

“I think this is one of the things that gets sort of out of whack at the quarterback position – making good choices and decisions, getting the ball to the right place at the right time accurately is the most important thing about playing quarterback. And some guys think they have to make plays, so sometimes they abort the system to make a play, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.

“But those negative plays when you do that usually kill you, and that’s what you have to sort of guard against, avoid, whatever because they can lose games for you.”

SEC East coach speaks highly of Buchner

Ole Miss, South Carolina and Tennessee were the final three teams to make the rounds at SEC Media Days on Thursday, and all three were asked questions about Alabama. Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer was asked about Buchner during his time in the electronic media room, since Buchner led Notre Dame to a 45-38 win over South Carolina in the Gator Bowl.

Beamer was complimentary of Buchner, who threw for 253 yards and scored five touchdowns.

“Really talented, athletic, gamer,” Beamer said. “I remember seeing him right after the game – I finished my press conference and he was out in the hallway, getting ready to go in for their press conference. I just told him, ‘Heck of a performance, great respect for you.’ 

“He made some really good throws in that game, as well, and just a guy that you could tell his teammates had great respect for him and rallied around him and certainly a guy they had a lot of confidence in at Notre Dame.”

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