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Alabama QB Ty Simpson makes surprising decision

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Jan 7, 2026 12:36 PM ET

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson made a somewhat surprising decision about his future on Wednesday.

Simpson informed Alabama that he plans to enter the NFL Draft. The redshirt junior is making the jump after just one year as a starter.

Simpson made the announcement in a video he posted to Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ty Simpson (@ty_simpson06)

The move comes as a bit of surprise given Simpson’s relative lack of experience and a somewhat up-and-down season. The theory might be that he hopes to take advantage of a relatively weak quarterback class to get drafted fairly high in 2026.

A fascinating decision by Simpson.

This QB class is extremely thin. He has a real chance to be one of the first QBs taken after Fernando Mendoza (and Dante Moore, Jr. if he declares).

On the other hand, his tape really tapered off in the back half of the season. Tricky eval. https://t.co/uhuhFDVCTy
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) January 7, 2026

Simpson threw for 3,567 yards, 28 touchdowns and 5 interceptions in 15 games this past season. He was significantly more impressive in the first half of the campaign than the second half, which ended with an ugly College Football Playoff loss at the hands of the Indiana Hoosiers. Still, at one point this year, he was actually being looked at as a potential No. 1 overall pick. That likely is not the case now.

Still, Simpson figures to have a decent shot of being at least the third quarterback selected, behind Oregon’s Dante Moore and Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza. That was enough to encourage him to seize the opportunity and go pro now.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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