Going into SEC Media Days, Alabama’s quarterback battle is still ongoing with no timetable as to when a starter will be named.
In his opening statement at SEC Media Days, Alabama head coach Nick Saban shed little light on the competition outside of it being a three-player race. He also shared that all three had been improving.
“We have three guys that are competing for that position right now,” Saban said. “All of those players are getting better. ... I don’t think anybody has actually separated themselves yet to this point, and I don’t think that it’s something that we’re trying to rush.”
Saban even compared the battle to a childhood memory of his grandma’s cakes.
“You know, Grandma Saban used to cook the best cakes in the world,” Saban recalled. “And I used to stand by the oven when I was a kid and say ‘When’s this cake going to be done?’ And she said if I don’t let it go through and take it out of the oven too soon, it’s going to turn to mush so it won’t be a really good cake. So I think we got to let this sort of develop and make sure we let the cake bake until somebody separates themselves.”
With former Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young off to the NFL after being selected No. 1 overall by the Carolina Panthers, Alabama is left with three options to choose from for the starting quarterback job: Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson and Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner.
Milroe, although it’s not much, brings the most experience as an Alabama quarterback after filling in for an injured Bryce Young for a game and a half. Milroe also led the first team offense in the A-Day scrimmage.
Simpson is a highly recruited redshirt sophomore whose only playing time came in clean-up duty at the end of blowout games last season. Simpson led the second team offense in the A-Day scrimmage but is considered to be the most complete quarterback on the Crimson Tide roster.
Alabama’s third option, Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner, is a big wild card. Buchner joined Alabama after the spring practices had concluded but did spend the last two seasons under the Crimson Tide’s new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. Saban usually doesn’t go into the transfer portal for players unless they can contribute immediately, but as of now, it seems like Buchner could be the exception to the rule.
Buchner, as well as the other two candidates for the quarterback job, will have more chances to create separation in fall camp in early August, before Alabama’s season opener on September 2 against Middle Tennessee State.
"When somebody separates themselves — and nobody knows for sure when that is, and I can't establish a timetable to say on this date, we're going to say this is the starter," Saban said. "It's going to happen when it happens. And that's the way it'll be."
During the Q&A part of Saban’s SEC Media Days press conference, despite already letting the media know the state of the quarterback battle, the quarterback battle was mentioned again, and Saban reverted back to the cake analogy — even mentioning his favorite cake is carrot cake.
"I used the cake analogy because it's not done yet," Saban reiterated. "There's not a decision that needs to be made at this point in time, nor are we ready to make that decision at this point in time until somebody separates themselves."
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