Alabama football began its first spring practice period without Nick Saban since 2006 on Monday and Kalen DeBoer left the door open at quarterback. The first-year head coach indicated that there will be a competition but gave the very early nod to Jalen Milroe.
You want competition, right? The competition is always going to be there and yeah, someone had to take the first reps today with the ones. We lined up, and we refer to them as (ones). And Jalen (Milroe) did. He’s putting everything into it along with the other guys that took those first reps. But I fully expect those guys that are really hungry to be pushing those guys that are ahead of them to be their best. That’s what you want in a football program.
— Kalen DeBoer
That is not a big surprise. It would be silly to name a starter on the first day of the spring period. Especially considering that it was his first actual practice with his new team.
With that being said, DeBoer’s unwillingness to expand further about Alabama’s plan at quarterback is notable.
Milroe is the incumbent. He recently debuted a new throwing motion and looks like the Hulk.
Behind him last season was Ty Simpson. The former five-star prospect in the college football recruiting Class of 2022 will be a redshirt sophomore this fall. His playing time against USF was one of the most crucial moments of the Crimson Tide’s College Football Playoff run.
Saban benched Milroe after a slow start to the season. Alabama was losing 3-0 without him. Simpson entered late in the second quarter and led the team to 17 unanswered points.
And then there’s Dylan Lonergan, a four-star recruit in the Class of 2023. His path to the starting job is less viable.
The competition to which Kalen DeBoer was referring is between Milroe and Simpson.
It sounds like the former has a slight edge over the former during the early going. However, the head coach’s unwillingness to throw his full support behind him indicates that there is an opportunity for the latter to win the job over the course of the next six months and that is something to keep an eye on.
There were a lot of questions about Milroe’s ability to throw entering last season. He had a great year.
And yet, Simpson might still be the better passer… Time will tell!