Greg McElroy 'Optimistic' About Alabama's Quarterbacks Following Scrimmage

Alabama held its first fall scrimmage on Saturday, and former Crimson Tide quarterback Greg McElroy was in attendance.

The BCS national champion got a good view of numerous positions during the scrimmage and kept a close eye on the Alabama's quarterback battle. It's a three-man race between redshirt junior Ty Simpson, redshirt sophomore Austin Mack and true freshman Keelon Russell, and McElroy had some expectations prior to Saturday's kickoff.

"Usually first scrimmage, defense is way ahead of the offense," McElroy said on the McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning radio show on Monday. "Usually first scrimmage, it's still a work in progress offensively. You're probably going to turn it over a time or two. You're probably going to have a couple of mistakes in protections. You're probably going to have some busted routes and things like that."

However, this wasn't the case for the quarterback trio as McElroy could only count the number of mistakes on just one hand and that he "didn't expect them to look as good as they did."

“Very impressed with what I saw from the quarterback position as a whole, but not really one thing that surprised me with that group,” McElroy said. “I think it’s pretty clear what the pecking order is right now. Doesn’t mean it can’t change. But I think you should feel good about whoever plays quarterback for the Tide this year, I think they’re going to be in good hands. I really believe that to be the case.”

Simpson has been considered the top candidate to be the QB1 practically since the final whistle of last season, as starter Jalen Milroe went to the NFL Draft. Simpson sat behind Milroe for the last two years and was a freshman during Bryce Young's final season. So, how did he perform in a full pads environment?

“I think Ty was really decisive,” McElroy said. “I thought he looked really, really comfortable. I thought he made the play of the day toward the end, where he scrambled around, showed some mobility, kept his eyes downfield and hit [running back Jam Miller] for a touchdown in the end zone. He looks very in control.

“Now, were there a couple of throws that he would have maybe would have liked to have back? Sure. But guess what? It’s practice 9. You’re going to miss a couple, it just is what it is and that’s a good defense too. There were probably a couple things he could have cleaned up, but man, I was really impressed by what I saw from him.”

McElroy liked what he saw from Mack and Russell as well.

“I thought Austin had a really nice day running mostly with the twos, but really, really solid day,” McElroy said. “I think Keelon, from an arm-talent standpoint, the ball jumps out of his hand, man. Really throws a nice ball. He’s got a lot of velocity on it, though.”

Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer didn't officially say that Russell would be third-string quarterback during Saturday's press conference, but he did mention multiple times that both Simpson and Mack looked a bit more "sharp and confident" in the huddle, which is primarily due to experience.

Based on McElroy's claim that Mack mostly played with the second team during the scrimmage, the third quarterback spot might be designated for the 2024-25 Gatorade National Football Player of the Year.