To be the starting quarterback, you don’t just have to win over the coaching staff; you have to win over the locker room, and it appears that, finally, in his fourth season on campus, Ty Simpson has done it. Kalen DeBoer and Ryan Grubb named Simpson the Week 1 starter after a three-way fall camp quarterback battle, but the confidence that his teammates have should be even more encouraging to Crimson Tide fans.
Alabama reportedly did not have its best practice on Tuesday, at least not a practice that the redshirt junior quarterback was satisfied with. Speaking with the media, junior left tackle Kadyn Proctor, entering his third year as a starter for the Tide, sounded like he loved Simpson’s response and his leadership.
Kadyn Proctor told the media that Ty Simpson was “fired up” and “got on us after practice” as the Tide didn’t have the best practice today.
— Sidelines - Bama (@SSN_Alabama) August 19, 2025
“That’s the type of leadership you have to have.”
Simpson has to keep the confidence of a talented roster
There was plenty of turnover when Nick Saban retired, and DeBoer replaced him, but the cupboard was not left bare. The Tide quickly reloaded and now head into the 2025 season with one of the most talented rosters in the country. Defensively, Alabama returns eight starters, and on the offensive side of the ball, six starters are back, including one of the most dynamic receiving corps in the country.
Ryan Williams has somewhat been overshadowed by Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith on the national scale. Still, he has a clear argument as the second-best wide receiver in the country, and he’s not alone in the wide receiver room. Germie Bernard is back for his final year of eligibility, and the Tide added a physical outside threat in Isaiah Horton from Miami this offseason.
Simspon has to not only earn, but maintain the trust of those three pass catchers, or he’ll quickly lose the locker room and potentially even his starting job. Five-star freshman Keelon Russell is a tantalizing prospect, but leadership like Proctor described is exactly how Simpson will keep Russell at bay.
Russell may be the long-term guy. He was the first quarterback that DeBoer recruited to Alabama, while Simpson was a holdover from the Saban days, but a quarterback change this season would almost certainly mean that the Tide’s College Football Playoff hopes have been dashed. That would put DeBoer firmly on the hot seat and in the crosshairs of a fanbase that’s already desperate for a return to the college football mountaintop.
For now, Simpson has won the locker room over, and that’s a positive sign for the Tide’s championship hopes in 2025. Now, he has to prove it between the lines when Alabama takes the field in Tallahassee in Week 1.