Kalen DeBoer points out major mistake on Ty Simpson’s interception vs. Vanderbilt

As dialed in as Ty Simpson has been this season, Alabama fans have an unbridled confidence when he uncorks a throw. Obviously, the coaching staff has a ton of confidence in the redshirt junior, too. They showed it on a 4th-and-1 play call on the opening drive against Vanderbilt last week.

The fact that Simpson threw an interception - his first of the season - was surprising to fans and the coaching staff.

Simpson seemed to try and force the football to TE Josh Cuevas, throwing up a contested ball that Vanderbilt's Martel Hight intercepted.

Before Simpson even released the football, though, the play was doomed. And not because of him, but according to Kalen DeBoer, because of an issue with the routes by the receivers.

On his weekly "Hey Coach" radio show last night, DeBoer talked about the play and said that Cuevas and WR Isaiah Horton should not have been that close together that far down the field.

"We should have been walking into the endzone, honestly," DeBoer said.

Kalen DeBoer believes Ty Simpson's interception should have been an easy touchdown

If you rewatch the video, it's really just a two-man route concept, and Alabama got the look it was hoping for. Horton and Cuevas release, and both are in one-on-one coverage. Jam Miller is leaking out of the backfield as the safety valve, if needed. It's a max protection shot play on 4th-and-1.

A lot of Alabama fans were irritated by the call, especially with how Miller ran the football on Saturday, but DeBoer stands by it. If properly executed, he believes the Crimson Tide would have had a touchdown on that play. He's probably right.

Without knowing the routes, it's hard to know whether it was Horton or Cuevas who ran the wrong route, but one of them did. They are in the exact same area when the ball is in the air, which shouldn't happen when five receivers are going out for a pass, much less when it's just two.

My guess is that Cuevas was supposed to carry across to the other side of the field. He probably would have come open, and if he didn't, then there would have been a lot more room for Horton to.

It's an aggressive play call in that situation, but DeBoer and OC Ryan Grubb are aggressive offensive coaches. When it works, fans applaud it. When it doesn't, it was clearly the wrong call. But what fans never get a good view of on plays like that is what was supposed to happen. Had Alabama executed that play properly, it's probably a Simpson touchdown pass, and he still has a zero in the interception column.