Former Alabama Crimson Tide LB Nikhai Hill-Green was born in Pittsburgh and grew up there before transferring to St. Frances Academy in Baltimore during his high school days. Suffice it to say, he knows the Steelers. He also knows Alabama QB Ty Simpson.
Hill-Green only played one season with the Crimson Tide. However, that season coincided with Simpson’s only career starts for Alabama, which gave Hill-Green a unique perspective. Joining Brian Batko on Chipped Ham & Football on Thursday, he gave his brief scouting report on his former teammate.
“He’s the best, because he can make every throw and he does not get rattled…if you see his pocket presence when there’s pressure,” Hill-Green said. “If scouts want to hear about Ty Simpson, just turn on the film with no sound and watch when he’s pressured and see his decision-making. When the pressure’s on, he’s better. That’s the quarterback you want.”
Ty Simpson is rapidly becoming a familiar name to Steelers fans. He’s a popular name in mock drafts for the Steelers’ 21st-overall pick. So, hearing Hill-Green’s perspective on Simpson is interesting.
Who wouldn’t want a quarterback who can make all the throws and handle pressure well? Both of those are hallmarks of great quarterbacks. The Steelers need a franchise quarterback, and they certainly have been doing their homework on Simpson.
However, you wonder if Hill-Green has crimson-colored glasses on when he evaluates Ty Simpson. He even admitted he’s biased toward his former teammate. I bring that up because when you read our own Jim Hester’s scouting report of Simpson, when he did exactly what Hill-Green says scouts should do, you read about Simpson’s struggles with pressure.
His production dipped significantly when pressured (48.7 percent completion rate), and he would try to leave the pocket too quickly. This was where his mechanics would noticeably start to break down. He would get “happy feet” and try to evade the pressure instead of climbing or navigating to find guys downfield…
It was also really noticeable that his eyes would speed up with pressure. This often led to quick checkdowns, staring down his first read, or forcing throws to guys to get the ball out as fast as possible.
NFL quarterbacks are going to deal with pressure. We saw what happened when the Steelers faced the Houston Texans in the playoffs last year. QB Aaron Rodgers and the offense couldn’t make anything happen consistently against that devastating pass rush. Quarterbacks have to make smart decisions in the face of pressure, and it sounds like Simpson struggled to do that in college.
However, it’s not all bad with Ty Simpson and pressure. Hester wrote that “he was often poised and ‘looked down the barrel’ as he was being hit, making big-time throws.” Sometimes, quarterbacks have to sit in the pocket and make a throw with a defender in their face. The fact that Simpson did that on the tape is a positive sign.
Evidently, Ty Simpson left a positive impression on teammates like Nikhai Hill-Green. That’s always a good sign. However, the Steelers need to really dig into his tape and find out if they’re willing to invest a first-round pick in a quarterback with only 15 career college starts.
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