Ryan Grubb shares area Ty Simpson impressed him, earned trust

Alabama redshirt junior Ty Simpson was officially named the Crimson Tide’s starting quarterback heading into the 2025 season, signaling a change of guard at the position. Simpson has been a staple of the program for three seasons, but waited his turn and it has now paid off.

He’ll now lead an offense headed by offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who enters his first season with the Alabama program. Grubb was the OC with the Seattle Seahawks last season but now returns to college, where he’s coached under Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer at both Fresno State (2020-21) and Washington (2022-23).

“One of my main messages to Ty was that he did earn (the starting job),” Grubb said during a media opportunity this week. “I thought he was a little bit careless with the football and that was something I wanted to make sure that, as a decision maker with a good team and a lot of supporting cast around him, he can just distribute the ball.”

“I thought for him calming the game down, slowing it down and being authentic in the meeting room… he’s not trying to say things that impress a coach or like say something to say he understands a coverage. He asks genuine questions and being in the meeting room with him everyday, I trust him in that regard. I think that’s a huge part for our growth.”

Grubb wants Simpson to keep improving on things he needs to work on

Simpson has played in 16 games over three seasons, where he’s completed 29 of his 50 passes for 381 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. He was a five-star recruit (ranked No. 25 overall in his class) coming out of Westview (Martin, TN) in 2022 and is now the main-man in Tuscaloosa.

Although Simpson has been revealed as the starter, Grubb made it clear that it is just a starting point.

“We’ve thrown like four total this camp. And this spring, I think at this time, we had thrown like 15. So I think, in general, the guys are understanding the concepts and control of the offense a lot better as a room, and Ty was the best at that,” Grubb continued. “His ability to command and create out of the pocket, I thought, was the best. Made great decisions. And yeah, he’s just much cleaner on some of the things that you expect an older quarterback ability to do.”

“I think he’s just gotta keep improving on things that he knows he has to work on. And this is just, it’s an announcement, it’s a starting point. If you have any kind of finality to this announcement, whether you’re the backup or the starter, I think they’re gonna rob themselves of some really good opportunities.”

Alabama opens its 2025 season on the road at Florida State on Aug. 30. Kick-off is scheduled for 3:30 PM on ABC.