Alabama and Kalen DeBoer got that monkey off their back after winning back-to-back football games against top-15-ranked programs like Georgia and Vanderbilt. DeBoer flipped the hot-seat talk after their week 1 loss against FSU. Right now, it’s feeling like déjà vu in Tuscaloosa – all thanks to Ty Simpson and the clutch genes in his body. Despite throwing a pick, Kalen DeBoer defended Ty Simpson by putting the TE and WR under the bus to justify Ty’s pick against Vandy.

Notably, Ty Simpson’s gameplay reflects the skills expected of a five-star quarterback. In the first five outings, the Crimson Tide QB threw double-digit TDs and only threw one pick, and called it ‘Ridiculous’. On October 8, Kalen DeBoer hopped onto the podium and justified that Ty Simpson’s only pick of the season came in their 30-14 dub against Clark Lea’s Vanderbilt.

The Alabama insider Mike Rodak took it to X: “Kalen DeBoer said on ‘Hey Coach’ that on Ty Simpson’s interception against Vanderbilt, the receivers (Josh Cuevas and Isaiah Horton) should not have been “that close together that far down the field.” DeBoer: “We should be walking into the end zone, honestly.”

Ty Simpson threw his first interception in college during a fourth-down play (when the team needed to convert rather than turn the ball over). He was supposed to throw a pass that would stretch the defense (a “flood concept”). But he misread the defense’s game plan. The cornerback took the deep route, and Simpson threw right to the safety instead. But according to DeBoer, it’s a different story.

The error happened because two receivers, Josh Cuevas (TE) and Isaiah Horton (WR), ran too close to each other down the field. That made it easy for the defenders to stop the play and catch the ball. DeBoer said the play should have worked for an easy touchdown if the receivers had run the right routes and spaced out perfectly. However, that didn’t stop Ty Simpson from putting Heisman voters on notice. Ty Simpson bounced back and out-balled Diego Pavia and the Vandy defense with 340 yards and two touchdowns, completing a sweet 74.2% of his passes.

The man’s making all kinds of throws that Jalen Milroe used to struggle with. After patiently waiting his turn for three years behind Jalen Milroe and Mac Jones, he finally let it rip. He’s been exceptionally accurate, throwing for over 1,400 yards and 13 touchdowns with only one interception through Week 6. Heading into week 7, Ty Simpson is in everybody’s favorite top 3 candidates for Heisman, and CBS has him as the No.1 QB heading into week 7.

Kalen DeBoer praises Ty Simpson

Nobody’s elated with his quarterback’s progression than Kalen DeBoer is with Ty Simpson’s. Earlier this week, DeBoer appeared on Bussin’ With The Boys and gave props to Simpson’s growth and development through their first five games.

“I think every week there’s been a lot of growth and learning from him. He’s really taken everything on. Our coaches continue to coach him hard, and he’s great with it now because he understands that we’re doing it out of trust. We’re asking a lot of him, and he’s capable of it – and he knows we believe that,” and added that Ty Simpson exceeded far beyond their expectations regarding the big-time plays.

Simpson’s heroics caught the eyes of oddsmakers. BetMGM says Ty Simpson has +800 odds to win the Heisman, the third-best, only behind Dante Moore and Carson Beck. With Eli Drinkwitz’s Mizzou next, Ty Simpson gets another day to run it up on the Heisman ladder.