As expected, Alabama named Ty Simpson the starting quarterback for the Crimson Tide officially on Wednesday.
Simpson's starting was probably the worst-kept secret in college football. Simpson is grateful for the opportunity. He will be the last of Nick Saban’s quarterbacks who he recruited out of high school.
"I've talked to Coach Saban a lot," Simpson said. "He always would tell me, 'Don't worry about the outside noise. Don't worry about external factors. Don't worry about anybody else. Just be the best that you can be.' And I really didn't understand that when I was a young guy. I would always be worried about somebody else or somebody at a different type of school or whatever, or be looking somewhere else and be like, 'Man, I could've played there or whatever.'
Now that Simpson is officially the starter, who will back him up? Austin Mack or freshman Keelon Russell.
Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb tried to answer that question Tuesday.
"Those guys are continuing to rep," Grubb said. "I think it could be pigeon holing yourself a little bit on reps and opportunities for those guys to get better."
Both Grubb and head coach Kalen DeBoer had nothing but praise for all three quarterbacks these opening weeks of fall camp for Alabama but as far as who is backing up Simpson, that decision hasn’t been made yet.
That decision is just as important as the starting QB positon because it means they could get more playing time. Grubb says he believes both Mack and Russell will just keep developing at the position despite being backups.
"I don't think that's coaching," Grubb said when it comes to continue development. "I think that's just the guys doing a really great job of focusing on themselves. I think Austin and Keelon will be up to that."