Ryan Grubb tells why Ty Simpson won Alabama’s quarterback competition

Alabama football’s quarterback competition is now behind it after officially announcing Ty Simpson as its starter.

The Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb was asked what went into the decision to start Ty during his latest media availability on Tuesday.

“Ty did a really nice job of taking care of the football, I think number one,” Grubb told reporters. “I think Ty is an incredible playmaker on the move, and I think from there, guys like that, you worry are they going to be able to train themselves to be able to take care of the football and even the room in general. Ty led that charge. Ty didn’t throw any picks last week. He’s thrown one all camp. We’ve thrown like four total this camp. This spring, I think at this time, we threw like 15. I think in general, the guys understand the concepts and control the offense a lot better as a room, and Ty was the best at that. His ability to command and create out of the pocket, I thought, was the best. Made great decisions. He is just much cleaner on some of the things you expect an older quarterback to do.”

Simpson is the only quarterback on the Crimson Tide’s roster who Kalen DeBoer did not recruit to Alabama.

The redshirt junior earning the trust of DeBoer’s staff, played a role in him winning the competition.

“I will say as one of my main messages that Ty was that he did earn it and that I thought that he was a little bit careless with the football,” Grubb said. “That was something that I wanted to make sure that as a decision maker of a good team and a lot of the great supporting cast around him, I just want to make sure he can distribute the ball. I thought for him, calming  the game down, slowing it down, and being authentic in the meeting room, like, just I’m not trying to say things to impress a coach or, like, say something to show that you understand the coverage, asking genuine questions, Just be in the meeting room with him every day, I trust him in that regard, and I think that is a huge part for our growth.”

Simpson is set to make his first start against Florida State on Aug. 30.