Alabama QB Ty Simpson makes admission about Tennessee and Nico Iamaleava that will have Vols fans saying 'What if'

Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson, despite overtures from the Tennessee Vols, the Miami Hurricanes, and the Ole Miss Rebels, is sticking to his plan and declaring for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Simpson initially declared for the NFL Draft last week, but numerous programs made lucrative offers to try to lure the talented quarterback back to college for his final season of eligibility.

The former five-star recruit is expected to be a first round pick later this spring.

Ty Simpson admits he was once intrigued by the idea of transferring to Tennessee

Simpson detailed the difficult decision to pass on some big offers, which reached as high as $6.5 million, in an in-depth interview with On3's Chris Low.

One notable takeaway from the interview with Low was Simpson revealing that he was intrigued by the idea of transferring to Tennessee when rumors first surfaced -- immediately after the 2024 season -- that quarterback Nico Iamaleava might enter the transfer portal.

Iamaleava, however, didn't enter the portal until the spring window.

“I would have had to jump into the portal with him still on the team,” said Simpson. “He stayed and didn’t leave until the spring, and you couldn’t transfer within the SEC in the spring portal. I was a Tennessee guy growing up. It just never worked out that way for me to go there. It wasn’t God’s plan. His plan was for me to go to Alabama, and I couldn’t be happier.”

Simpson nearly ended up at Tennessee as a high school recruit, but that ship sailed once Jeremy Pruitt was fired.

Josh Heupel, who replaced Pruitt at Tennessee, did all he could to land Simpson, but he only had a few days to win the battle, which wasn't enough time.

“Of course, growing up, I knew about Tennessee and the Big Orange,” said Simpson before playing the Vols this past season. “But I don’t want to say it’s personal by any means. It’s just another game. I’m not going to make it bigger than it is. Obviously, a really good team coming in here [with] a really good defense, and a really good offense. We know what happened last year, but it’s just like Vanderbilt week. We’re not going to make it about last year; it’s going to be about this year.”

You gotta respect Simpson's decision to stay in the draft and preserve his Alabama legacy, but there's no doubt he would've been a good player in orange and white.

The good news for Tennessee, though, is that the Vols are already in the mix for Simpson's younger brother, Graham.

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This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Jan 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the Nashville section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.