Aug 30, 2025; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson (15) during warmups before the game between the Florida State Seminoles and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images
At the NFL combine in Indianapolis, former Alabama captain and NFL Draft linebacker prospect Deontae Lawson expressed how much respect he has for quarterback Ty Simpson and the decisions he’s made thus far in his career.
Simpson had to wait three years for an opportunity to start for the Crimson Tide. With the way the transfer portal is now, Simpson could have easily left and found a starting job at another program, but he stuck it out until his time came.
[](https://app.buildfire.com/promo/[SIG] Touchdown Enterprises)
Lawson is one of the few players who was able to watch Simpson from the time he joined the program to the final season, and he told reporters he could see in practice how great Simpson was going to be.
“Honestly, Ty’s always been great,” Lawson said. “Just had to sit back and wait his turn. You could see it in practice before he was even playing, the balls he was making, his accuracy was always on point. And just being able to get the experience, that’s what really showed everything.”
Simpson was involved in multiple quarterback competitions while at Alabama. He competed with Jalen Milroe and Tyler Buchner in 2023, but Milroe won the job and started two seasons at Alabama.
Last offseason, Simpson had to compete with Austin Mack and Keelon Russell, and he won the position battle a few weeks before the Crimson Tide’s season opener. Simpson went on to throw for 3,567 yards and 28 touchdowns in 2025.
Lawson shared that he has a lot of respect for Simpson and the decisions he’s made. Simpson earned the respect of his teammates as he worked his way from backup to starter, and not transferring made his guys respect him even more, according to Lawson.
“For him to stay down ‘till he came up,” Lawson said. “When you can transfer, go to another team and start, but stick it out with your guys, that just makes you respect him just a little bit more.”
Not only did Simpson decline to transfer when he was a backup at Alabama, he turned down millions of dollars from programs like Miami, Ole Miss and Tennessee that wanted him to leave Alabama and transfer to their school in 2026.
Most of the quarterbacks in college football today would have left and followed the money, but Simpson wanted to be remembered as a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Simpson will throw at the NFL combine on Saturday, and in this year’s relatively weak quarterback class, he will have the chance to firmly establish himself as the No. 2 overall quarterback in the 2026 NFL draft class.
Related Topics
Matthew Mason is a writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine with three years of experience covering Alabama athletics. Mason, a junior at The University of Alabama, began covering Alabama athletics for The Crimson White in 2023 and became a Staff Writer in 2024 before joining TDA in May of 2025. Along with coverage of Alabama football, Mason creates video content for TDA's YouTube channel. Follow him on X at MatthewMason__