What new OC Tommy Rees said about Alabama's 3-man quarterback battle

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama offensive coordinator Tommy Rees spoke to local reporters for the first time Sunday morning as part of the Crimson Tide’s preseason Media Day. As expected, as the quarterbacks coach, Rees fielded several questions about his position group.

Alabama has to replace its starter from the last two years, Bryce Young, this offseason, and at the moment, the competition is between a trio of players – Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson and Tyler Buchner. All three players received first-team reps during Saturday’s open practice, working in the order listed above, but no one has separated themselves from the rest of the pack.

Rees was asked about the challenges of giving three quarterbacks quality reps in practice.

“There are some challenges,” Rees said. “We practice in a way that there are plenty of opportunities and reps for all those guys to get. The thing I’m fortunate for is our quarterbacks understand it, and they don’t have any egos. We’re trying to tell them, ‘Hey, when you’re in there, you’re the guy, and we want you to own those opportunities and own those reps.’ And so they’ve bought into that. They’ve been supportive of one another.

“Eli (Holstein) and Dylan (Lonergan) are still getting plenty of reps. We’re really repping five guys right now, which is probably really rare. You go across the country, probably nowhere in the country is repping five guys. But the way we practice, the way we give our guys opportunities, it allows for that to happen. And our players have bought into it, and we have had opportunities to give them longer chunks of plays to get them into a rhythm.

“Sometimes, it’s a little choppier, but we wanna make sure that we’re mixing up how we’re rotating, we’re mixing up the different periods that guys get so that they’re exposed to different situational football. Again, our players have made it easy for me because they’ve been receptive of it, and they just want to make the most of every opportunity they’ve had.”

In the spring, Milroe and Simpson were the top contenders for the starting job behind center, but after an up-and-down close to the spring concluded, Alabama looked to the transfer portal for an extra quarterback to add to the mix. That is where it found Buchner, who started three games for Notre Dame in 2022 but was set to be the backup behind another transfer this season.

Having previously been the offensive coordinator for the Irish, Rees has a relationship with the newest addition to the quarterback room and discussed the decision to bring in Buchner.

“When he went into the portal, we looked at an opportunity to add competition to the room,” Rees said. “I think competition at all positions is gonna bring out the best in individuals. It’s gonna add an extra layer of development. It’s gonna allow people to rise with the competition. And I think one thing we’re trying to get the whole quarterback room to understand is when one guy has success, first of all, we need to look at it as shared success.

“We need to look at it as the group. Like we wanna leave practice saying, ‘The quarterback position, the quarterback group had a good day.’ The other thing we wanna see is when one quarterback has success, it’s going to challenge the rest of the group. And when we can do that, it’s gonna raise the level play in the room. We don’t wanna look at it and shy away from it. We wanna look at it as an opportunity to improve the entire group.”

Specifically on Buchner, Rees said, “(Tyler) is a guy I recruited at a young age, obviously spent two seasons with him. I think he provides a little bit of a veteran presence in the room and adds some competition. I think he’s hit the ground running with the rest of the guys on the team, especially with the rest of the quarterbacks, and it’s been really a healthy transition.”

A surprise to some, none of Alabama’s quarterbacks chose to transfer after the Crimson Tide landed Buchner’s commitment. Milroe and Simpson, in particular, chose to remain in the battle, and they have been the first two players through drills to open preseason camp. Rees shared his thoughts on their progress, as well as what it says about them for sticking around.

“I think they’ve both improved greatly from the spring,” Rees said. “I think there’s been an extra buy-in since spring ball ended and just doing more and doing extra to get themselves prepared.

“I think it shows, first of all, a great amount of character, a great amount of competitiveness for those two guys. But it also shows a love for their teammates and a love for being here. And honestly, it speaks volumes about the program that guys wanna stay here. And so I think it’s really special that in this age of college football, especially at the quarterback position when guys are so eager to leave, that two guys looked at an opportunity to stay here, to care about their teammates, to continue to improve.

“Ultimately, we’re trying to build as healthy of a room as we can. They understood that competition can bring out the best in them, and they’ve been great the entire process throughout. And I don’t expect that to change.”

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