After three seasons sitting on the bench and two of those after losing camp battles to Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson has suddenly blossomed into the Heisman Trophy candidate and NFL Draft prospect that the Crimson Tide always hoped Milroe would be.
For as dynamic an athlete and accurate a deep-ball thrower as Milroe was, Simpson has been an obvious upgrade at the most important position. Simpson allows offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb to run a more complex downfield passing attack, similar to the one he designed for Michael Penix Jr. at Washington, though it attack distinctly different areas of the field.
Alabama has sacfiriced an explosive element to its running game with Milroe backing up Sam Darnold on the Seattle Seahawks, and that’s been meaningful, but it’s a worthwhile exchange for Simpson’s command at the line of scrimmage, pocket presence, anticipation, and accuracy. Yet, for the first time all season, Alabama could miss Milroe when it takes the field at Bryant-Denny Stadium against LSU on Saturday night.
Milroe was a better matchup for Blake Baker’s defense than Ty Simpson
Milroe’s best performance last season came against Georgia, ripping out to an early lead and establishing himself as a Heisman Trophy contender. After beating the Bulldogs, he was being talked about as the potential No. 1 overall pick, which obviously didn’t last long. However, he was just as dynamic against LSU, throwing for only 109 yards and a touchdown on 12 completions, but rushing for 185 yards and four scores on 12 totes.
In total, Alabama rushed for 311 yards against LSU last season, a number that would be unfathomable with this year’s iteration of the offense, which ranks 121st in the country in rushing success rate and boasts an explosive rush rate of just 4.9 percent.
The struggles on the ground are not necessarily Simpson’s doing. There are plenty of factors including an underperforming offensive line, running back injuries, the transfer portal departure of Justice Haynes in the offseason, and the arrival of Ryan Grubb and his pass-happy attack. Still, losing the 11-man run game that Milroe provided has played a role in the depressed production. Again it’s a trade that Alabama would make almost every single time, but maybe not against Blake Baker’s LSU defense.
Baker is known as a blitz-happy defensive coordinator who trust his corners in man coverage, and turns up the heat with extra rushers. That aggressiveness can make the Tigers a nightmare in obvious passing situations, but it leaves Baker’s unit vulnerable to rushing attacks that feature the quarterback and require eye and rush-lane discipline to stop.
Of Milroe’s 185 yards on the ground last season, only 10 came on scrambles. The rest were designed runs. Those issues have carried over to 2025. LSU ranks 67th in the country in defensive EPA/rush, and has been particularly weak against athletic QBs. Marcel Reed went for 108 yards and two touchdowns as Texas A&M ran for 235 yards in Week 9, Diego Pavia finished with 94 yards and two touchdowns in the ground in Vanderbilt’s 31-24 win, and LaNorris Sellers went for 74 yards on 17 carries in a 20-10 loss to the Tigers.
Mobile quarterbacks’ are LSU’s kryptonite, and while Simpson is far from a statue, he wins with his arm and he primarily wins from the pocket. He’s good enough at it to light up this LSU defense. He’s averaging 7.9 yards per attempt against the blitz, ranking 53rd in the country and a dropoff from his 8.7 yards per attempt against four or fewer rushers. He can make Baker pay, but there’s a might greater risk of getting knocked off schedule with Alabama’s reliance on the aerial attack.
Simpson is obviously the better quarterback, but he’s not the best matchup for LSU. If Alabama’s offense spins its wheels in Week 11, there will be a small part in the back of Alabama fans’ minds wishing Milroe was around to run wild one more time.