Former Alabama quarterback and ESPN analyst Greg McElroy attended the Crimson Tide’s first scrimmage along with other former players. He shared his observations on his morning show Monday.
McElroy said all three quarterbacks looked impressive. But one player caught his attention: Ty Simpson.
“I gotta be honest, I didn’t expect them to look as good as they did. I was real optimistic with what I saw.”
He praised Simpson’s decision-making and pocket presence.
“The decisiveness of Ty getting the ball out, knowing exactly where you go with the football, let your feet talk to you, I thought he only had one bad decision the entire day. One, and this is practice nine?!? That’s phenomenal!”
McElroy also had positive things to say about Austin Mack and Keelon Russell.
He said both quarterbacks did “a lot of nice things” during the scrimmage. McElroy’s comments match what practice observers have been reporting – Simpson appears to be leading the quarterback competition.
Head coach Kalen DeBoer expressed satisfaction with Saturday’s scrimmage performance.
“Good scrimmage for the guys. I say it it seems like every time, but I felt good about the back and forth. There was times the offense moved the ball, especially early up the field. Defense did a nice job anchoring down as the scrimmage went along. Got into some situations at the end, some end of game stuff, that I think is really important,”
DeBoer told AL.com after the scrimmage.
DeBoer indicated he’ll name a starting quarterback after this Saturday’s scrimmage.
Simpson appears positioned to earn the starting role for Alabama’s upcoming season.
