TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — What's new? We're going to talk about quarterbacks.
The Alabama Crimson Tide is in the midst of a quarterback battle that continues to heat up with each and every day that goes by. You've got three quarterbacks in the race — Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson and Tyler Buchner. It appears that the two that have been in Tuscaloosa the last couple of seasons are the top two for the spot at the moment. But with quarterbacks, it's an ongoing situation that may not fully play out until late into the season — if ever.
In 2015, Jake Coker wasn't officially the quarterback until several games into the season — and won a national championship. Jalen Hurts fumbled his first snap as the backup to Blake Barnett in 2016-17. Hurts was subbed out in the middle of a national championship game for Tua Tagovailoa the following season — we all know what happened after that.
We've gotten accustomed to seeing Bryce Young take the field each and every Saturday for two straight years. It's going to be a much different experience for Alabama fans in 2023-24 — at least to start the year.
"I think they all have an opportunity to compete for the job," head coach Nick Saban said. "This job that you all talk about at quarterback — fall camp is not the beginning of the end. You've got an opportunity to separate yourself, to show that you can play with consistency and play winning football. That competition goes on and on and on. We need all of the quarterbacks to continue to improve and continue to compete even far beyond the time that we name the starter. We've had circumstances around here where quarterbacks have changed over the course of the year — you know what they are. You understand the history of what's happened at this place. So that's going to be the way this situation [goes]. Someone needs to separate themselves. And then, [they] need to continue to compete and improve so that if they do get an opportunity to play, they're going to be ready to play."
New offensive coordinator Tommy Rees brought Buchner over from Notre Dame — but he is very confident in the two quarterbacks he inherited as well.
"I think they’ve both improved greatly from the spring," offensive coordinator Tommy Rees said. "I think there’s been more buy-in since spring ball ended and just doing more, doing extra to get themselves prepared. I think it shows, first of all, a great amount of character, a great amount of competitiveness for those two guys. But it also shows a love for their teammates and a love for being here. And honestly, it speaks volumes about the program that guys want to stay here. And so I think it's really special that in this age of college football, especially at the quarterback position when guys are so eager to leave, that two guys looked at an opportunity to stay here, to care about their teammates, to continue to improve. [...] Ultimately, we’re trying to build as healthy of a room as we can. They understood that competition can bring out the best in them. They’ve been great the entire process throughout, and I don’t expect that to change.”
Sit back and relax because this quarterback competition is far from over — if it ever will be.
See Also:
Kevin Steele Excited to be Back at Alabama, Keeping Process Consistent
In the Huddle with Hannon: Biggest Takeaways from Alabama Football's Open Practice
BamaCentral's Instant Analysis: Alabama Football Open Practice
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