What Two-Time National Champion AJ McCarron has Shared with Ty Simpson

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.–– AJ McCarron has known Ty Simpson since the young quarterback was coming out of high school to play at Alabama. McCarron also knows exactly what it feels like to be the starting quarterback for the Crimson Tide, being the Alabama starter for three seasons and winning two national championships.

Simpson as spent three seasons at Alabama waiting his turn to be the starter and has his best chance yet entering the 2025 campagin.

" I think it’s Ty’s job to lose," McCarron told reporters at the Regions Tradition in Birmingham on Wednesday. "He's been there. He's put in the work. Players respect him, and he’s talented. He's a great kid."

While Simpson hasn't officially been named the starter, Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said at the end of spring that the redshirt junior was the frontrunner in the quarterback competition.

McCarron went through a quarterback competition in 2011 with Phillip Sims before winning the starting job and leading Alabama to a national title that season. He is one of few who knows what Simpson is going through currently, but also what he will go through if he is named the starting quarterback of the Crimson Tide.

"That’s what me and Ty have talked about before just the pressure of playing at Alabama and the expectations, right?" McCarron said. "It comes with it. It’s what you signed up for. It’s what makes Alabama such a special place to play I think. Like I told him, pressure creates diamonds, so go out, have fun, do what you've done your whole life playing the game and let the chips fall where they fall.”

During his collegiate career, McCarron threw for over 9,000 total yards with 77 passing touchdowns leading the Crimson Tide to an SEC crown and two national championships while finishing second in Heisman voting his senior season.

McCarron went on to spend seven seasons in the NFL, but he knows what it takes to win at a high level in the SEC. He was the only quarterback during the Nick Saban era at Alabama to win multiple national championships as the starter, and sees some winning characteristics in Simpson that have impressed him.

"I think he’s just a level-headed kid," McCarron said. "You need that, not only playing in the SEC playing the quarterback position, but playing at Alabama. Being able to stay even-keeled as much as possible. You’ve got to be able to take the good with the bad."

Overall, McCarron said Alabama has "a ton of talent" in the QB room, and he seems to have a lot of confidence in Simpson.

"I've always liked him," McCarron said about Simpson. "I thought he was super talented. Worked with him when he was coming out of high school. So he reached out to me and just kind of kept in touch that way through text or phone calls. He’s such a good dude, and I just wish him nothing but the best.”

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