What OC Tommy Rees has seen from Alabama football's Ty Simpson, Jalen Milroe, Tyler Buchner
New Alabama football offensive coordinator Tommy Rees gave Ty Simpson and Jalen Milroe major credit for their decision.
When the Crimson Tide added Tyler Buchner to the quarterback room via the transfer portal, Simpson and Milroe could have left. Neither did, though. And now all three are competing for the starting quarterback spot.
"It's really special that in this age of college football, especially at the quarterback position that guys are so eager to leave, that two guys took an opportunity to stay here care about their teammates and continue to improve," Rees said. "We’re trying to build as healthy of a room as we can. They understood that competition can bring out the best in them. They’ve been great the entire process throughout and I don’t expect that to change."
Rees spoke for the first time Sunday in front of reporters in Tuscaloosa since he took the job this offseason and won't speak publicly again until the postseason. Of the many topics discussed, he, as expected, fielded a few quarterback questions as the Crimson Tide sifts through the group and who the starter will be.
He not only commended the character of the quarterbacks who decided to stay but also how competition has helped them.
"I think they both improved greatly from the spring," Rees said of Milroe and Simpson. "I think there’s been an extra buy-in since spring ball ended. Doing more and doing extra to get themselves prepared."
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Meanwhile, Rees also has had a chance to work with Buchner again; He played for Rees the past two seasons at Notre Dame. When Buchner went into the portal, Rees said UA saw it as an opportunity to add competition to the room as well as a veteran presence.
Even though managing reps for five scholarship quarterbacks isn't easy, it's worthwhile. Rees continued stressing the value of competition on multiple occasions Sunday.
"When one quarterback has success, it’s going to challenge the rest of the group," Rees said. "When we can do that, it’s going to raise the level of play in the room. We don’t want to look at it and shy away from it. We want to look at it as an opportunity to improve the entire group."
Nick Kelly covers Alabama football and men's basketball for The Tuscaloosa News/USA TODAY Network. Reach him via email: nkelly@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_NickKelly.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: OC Tommy Rees on what he's seen from the Alabama football quarterbacks
