Advertisement

Alabama spring football: The next Bryce Young hasn't emerged yet as Tide QBs struggle

Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson dueled for the honor of replacing Bryce Young, but neither emerged a victor yet

Alabama head coach Nick Saban yells instruction during the first half of Alabama's A-Day scrimmage on Saturday, April 22, 2023, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Following in the steps of one program-defining quarterback is tough enough. Whoever leads the Alabama Crimson Tide this fall is going to be following four.

The Tide’s last four starting quarterbacks — Bryce Young, Mac Jones, Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts — are all either leading NFL teams or, in Young’s case, just a few days away from doing so. This, then, is the task facing the next quarterback at Alabama: keep pace with a list that includes one Heisman winner, two national championships and three first-round draft picks.

Alabama has four players vying for the right to shoulder that burden, two returnees and two Class of 2023 hopefuls, and each saw playing time at the Tide’s A-Day spring game on Saturday. The verdict? Inconclusive, at best.

The crowd on hand at Bryant-Denny Stadium wasn’t quite at October strength, either during or before the game. The quad around Alabama’s famed Denny Chimes had maybe 10% of its usual tailgating contingent. The line at noted pregame grill Rama Jama’s was only about a dozen people long. Perhaps it was complacency, perhaps it was just some cobwebs on the tailgating gear, but the 58,710 in attendance didn’t even bring the urgency that Bryant-Denny usually summons for whatever hapless non-conference opponents wander into the Tide’s path early in the season.

Out on the field, though, the intensity — and the expectation — were at full throttle. Coach Nick Saban prowled the backfield behind the offenses of the Crimson and White teams sporting a baby blue blazer and the annoyed demeanor of an assistant principal. He barked, clapped, stood with his hands in his pockets, turned away in frustration. He watched as the Tide QBs suffered through a rough first half — a combined 23-of-43 with one touchdown and three interceptions, including on an end-of-the-half Hail Mary. He threw his hands in the air time and time again as balls bounced off some receivers’ hands as others ran downfield untouched … and unnoticed by their quarterbacks.

“It’s really simple,” Saban said after the game, in a speech that was as much for his players as it was for the media. “It’s all about people being committed to the team, respecting what they have to do to play winning football.”

He then ticked off what he meant by “winning football,” and came close to showing the emotion he’d displayed on the field. “You’ve got to eliminate some of the negative plays, which would be interceptions, which would be turning the ball over, which would be dropping balls, which we had too many of today,” he said. “Also giving up plays on defense, making mental errors. Those kinds of things are what gets you beat. That’s what we want to eliminate.”

Coming into the game, Jalen Milroe — who had one start in relief of an injured Young last fall — and former five-star Ty Simpson projected out as the leading contenders for the starting job. Heralded freshmen Eli Holstein and Dylan Lonergan took snaps as well, as Saban begins the delicate dance of keeping quarterbacks in-house and away from the transfer portal.

Jalen Milroe played well in Saturday's A-Day game, but did he play well enough to win the starting job? (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Jalen Milroe played well in Saturday's A-Day game, but did he play well enough to win the starting job? (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

The line on Milroe from last season: incredible foot speed, questionable accuracy and decision-making. The line held Saturday, as Milroe struggled in the first half to move the first-team unit down the field. Saban didn’t name a starter on Saturday, and Milroe gave no indication that he’s ready to seize the gig just yet.

“The biggest thing we’re working on with the quarterbacks is, fundamentally, what they have to do to be able to process what the defense is doing,” Saban said. “Get a pre-read of, what do they play? They play in Cover 2, they play in Cover 7, they play three-deep zone? So you have a plan in your mind: This is where I’m reading, this is where I’m going, this is the progression that I want to go through, and trust in that and believe in that and not start drifting around in the pocket.”

Stats for a spring game are dubious at best, but Milroe finished with 245 passing yards via 19 completions on 37 attempts, with two interceptions and two touchdowns. He rushed for another 65 yards and a touchdown, but also suffered seven sacks. Simpson completed 12 of 26 attempts for 155 yards, throwing one interception and suffering a sack, though dropped passes throughout the game dented his final numbers. He too showed some wheels, finishing with 62 yards and a game-long rush of 45 yards. Simpson's Crimson won the game, for what that's worth, over Milroe's White team, 30-21.

Lonergan won the freshman battle, going 8 of 14 for 79 yards and a touchdown to Holstein’s 3 of 6 for 61 yards and an interception.

“We wanted to get each one of those freshmen at least three series out there,” Saban said. “Dylan was moving the team a little better. I’m pleased with the progress that they’re making, and I think they both have bright futures.”

Saban touched on the fact that both Milroe and Simpson have risen through the ranks in Tuscaloosa rather than arriving via the portal. He indicated that gave them a head start, but guaranteed them nothing. The transfer portal remains open until April 30, and with it the possibility that a new challenger could enter the competition.

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson (15) is one of the frontrunners competing for this year's starting job, but he has big shoes to fill. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson (15) is one of the frontrunners competing for this year's starting job, but he has big shoes to fill. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

“The people that have been in the program obviously have an advantage to some degree, because they know the system, they’ve had a lot of reps in the system,” Saban said. "But also, I think everybody needs to ask themselves, whatever position you play, are you playing winning football at that position? And can you play winning football at that position?”

The game’s real revelation might have been Justice Haynes, a five-star running back recruit and true freshman who racked up three touchdowns on 10 carries and four receptions. If Saban and Alabama are going to take a measure of pressure off the quarterback position this year, they’ll need reliable production out of the running back slot, and after a strong spring, Haynes appears ready to help handle that challenge.

“He’s got great maturity about him. You wouldn’t know he was a freshman if you didn’t know better,” Saban said. “Nothing is too big for him in terms of learning. He’s not intimidated by anything.”

The quarterback battle is a microcosm of the challenge that faces Alabama as a whole. After a decade and a half as the sport’s standard-bearer and measuring stick, Alabama now finds itself in the awkward and unfamiliar position of supporting actor. The Tide played itself out of playoff consideration with two losses in 2022. The Georgia Bulldogs are now the game’s unquestioned alpha dawg, and they climbed over the Tide’s broken body to get there to win two straight national titles. Alabama couldn’t even get marquee treatment on a random April Saturday; Deion Sanders’ spring football debut in Colorado ran on ESPN, bumping Alabama to the streaming ESPN+.

Nobody’s panicking in Tuscaloosa. With the top-ranked recruiting class of 2023 coming to campus, nobody’s really all that concerned yet, either. But everybody’s certainly aware. Improvement over 2022 isn’t just necessary, it’s expected. Thing is, when you’re as high up the mountain as Alabama, there’s a whole lot of room to fall.