Ty Simpson completed an impressive Junior Day showing on Wednesday, making some nice passes as he threw to Ryan Coleman-Williams, Rico Scott, Noah Rogers and his NFL draft prospect counterpart, Germie Bernard.
Over the course of Simpson’s 2025 junior campaign, he threw for 3,567 yards and 28 touchdowns. He completed 64.5% of his passes throughout the season while leading the Crimson Tide to the Rose Bowl game against Indiana.
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With Simpson’s departure for the NFL, it has left many fans wondering whether it’ll be Austin Mack or Keelon Russell to get the start next season. But that answer won’t come for another few months, as the quarterbacks are set to battle it out until then.
After Simpson left everything he had on the field for Pro Day, he told reporters what his message Mack and Russell is.
“Just be yourself and enjoy it,” Simpson said. “It was really cool coming back, after Pro Day, it was guys that I saw. They mean so much to me because they helped me get to where I’m at. It’s one of my favorite quarterback rooms. Austin and Keelon, seeing them grow from the season last year, to being in practice and being in meetings with them this year, it was just something that put a smile on my face because I feel like a big brother as well. Whoever plays is going to be so good that they’re going to lead the team the right way. So, be yourself, enjoy it and be the best teammate that you can be. Everybody cares about being a good player, but everybody is going to remember you being a great teammate.”
Both quarterbacks still have plenty of work to do, but this is shaping up to be one of the closest quarterback battles that Alabama has seen in a while, considering just how talented but similar Mack and Russell are.
As a junior, Mack will be looking for his first chance to truly lead the team since following head coach Kalen DeBoer from Washington to Alabama. He threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns in the time he saw on the field last season.
Russell, on the other hand, as a redshirt freshman, will be seeking for an early start to his career by earning the starting job after entering Tuscaloosa last season as a former five-star quarterback and top prospect in his class.
It will be interesting to see how the quarterback battle shapes up, but fans will still have to wait a bit longer until an official announcement is made. Until then, fans can look forward to A-Day on Aprill 11 for a peek at both quarterbacks in action.
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