Paul Finebaum names potential doomsday scenario for Alabama

Manning was the No. 1 recruit out of Isidore Newman (New Orleans) in the class of 2023, while Alabama backup Ty Simpson ranked No. 29 in 2022.

In Alabama's defense, Simpson has 25 pass attempts for the Tide compared to Manning's five.

However, Simpson was a recruit under former head coach Nick Saban, so how he fits in head coach Kalen DeBoer's scheme is worth monitoring.

Meanwhile, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian recruited Manning and coached him last season, and that familiarity should give Sarkisian more confidence if Manning needs to start.

It's certainly possible.

Ewers has missed five games over the past two seasons. He suffered a sprained clavicle in September 2022 against Alabama and a shoulder injury against Houston last season.

Finebaum mentioned Milroe's benching in Week 3 against South Florida last season and cautioned Alabama doesn't have a solid contingency plan if he struggles this year under DeBoer.

"Let's not forget the second or third game of the season last year, Milroe looked like he was done," Finebam said. "Alabama doesn't really have an automatic backup," he continued.

ESPN's Heather Dinich also appeared during the "First Take" segment and discussed Milroe's troubling sack numbers last season. Per data from Pro Football Focus, he was sacked 44 times, tied for the third most in the country.

If protection is an issue again, Simpson could be a play away from being Alabama's starter.

With a soft early season schedule, including home games against Western Kentucky (Aug. 31) and South Florida (Sept. 7), Simpson might receive valuable reps before a challenging SEC slate that includes home games against Georgia (Sept. 28) and Missouri (Oct. 26) and road trips to Tennessee (Oct. 19), LSU (Nov. 9) and Oklahoma (Nov. 23).

But Milroe is undoubtedly the Tide's best bet to lead them to the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. If Simpson starts a game this season, something's gone horribly wrong in Tuscaloosa.