The old adage is "if you have two starting quarterbacks, you don't have any." But what if you have three?
Ask Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide depth chart has remained completely amorphous heading into Week 1, with Jalen Milroe, Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner, and Ty Simpson all looking like they could lead 'Bama this year.
Week 1 of the season is unlikely to yield many answers. Middle Tennessee State has the dubious honor of being an "open tryout" of sorts for the three QBs, a la 2016 when Jalen Hurts wrested the job from Blake Bennett and Cooper Bateman over the course of two weeks by process of elimination.
While Milroe seems like the likely candidate to supplant Bryce Young for the crimson and white, with ESPN reporting he'll get the start in Week 1, "likely" means nothing to Saban, who has taken hard swerves before. Tommy Rees will be prowling the sidelines as Alabama's new offensive coordinator after moving south from Notre Dame along with Buchner. Finally, Simpson is looking to make a move to the front of the pack.
The competitive room had made things tough for Milroe, a dual-threat QB and former four-star recruit. Milroe had ups and downs in limited action last season, completing 31 of 53 passes for 297 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions in eight games.
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Simpson was similarly limited last year, attempting just five passes. Buchner is looking to shake off a rough start to his college career. A former four-star prospect himself, he has completed 67 of 118 passes for 949 yards, six touchdowns, and eight interceptions in his career. Buchner's 2022 was cut short by a season-ending shoulder injury in the second game. Drew Pyne was Notre Dame's starter last season before transferring to Arizona State for 2023.
Here are the main characters in the Alabama quarterback battle:
Who is Jalen Milroe?
Milroe is a former four-star recruit out of Katy, Texas, who is a redshirt sophomore for the Crimson Tide.
Milroe is 6-2 and 220 pounds, with speed and elusiveness that makes him a true dual-threat quarterback. He went to high school at Tompkins High School in the greater Katy area, where he threw for 3,825 yards, ran for 559 more, and was responsible for 53 touchdowns.
The QB originally committed to Texas, but he flipped to Alabama after all-around star Quinn Ewers committed to the Longhorns.
He has backed Young up the past two seasons, and he was a human victory cigar of sorts. There's a lot of football to be played in his career, and the job appears to be his to lose at this point as he'll get the first chance to impress in the opener.
If Milroe were to lose the starting job, there may be a transfer in his future as he's tied with Buchner for the senior-most QB on the roster and an incumbent. However, he'll have his chance to prove he deserves the starting role, and Rees will have to adjust his offense accordingly if he gets it.
Saban, for what it's worth, has spoken highly of Milroe.
"I think Jalen has made a significant amount of improvement," he said, per the Tuscaloosa News. "I think he's more comfortable in the pocket. I think he has more confidence in the way he executes and the way he plays. He's been more consistent in the way he's played. I think that's going to be the key to the drill for him to be able to maintain that consistency in every practice so he is developing the kind of habits that are going to carry over into the game and help him be successful."
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Who is Tyler Buchner?
A redshirt sophomore, Buchner followed Tommy Rees from South Bend to Tuscaloosa after an underwhelming two seasons with the Fighting Irish.
A former four-star recruit out of Helix High School in La Mesa, California, Buchner transferred following the clear emergence of Sam Hartman as Notre Dame's starter. Buchner thought he could compete for the starting gig, but after seeing limited action as a freshman his second season was cut short by a shoulder injury.
Buchner does come in having won a starting QB role before, something neither Milroe nor Simpson have done. That gives him some version of an edge. Though there was no path to playing with Hartman in the picture -- something that was reaffirmed with Hartman's sparkling Week 0 performance for the Irish -- Buchner has a fighting chance with the Crimson Tide.
MORE: Why did Tyler Buchner transfer to Alabama?
To that point, however, Buchner has proven to be prone to throwing interceptions, something that will get him the proverbial hook quickly under Saban. If Buchner is able to win the job, his six-to-eight touchdown-to-interception ratio has to improve. Otherwise, him winning the starting job is just the beginning.
Who is Ty Simpson?
If anyone has a murkier path to the starting job, it's Simpson.
Milroe has seniority. Buchner has familiarity with Rees. Simpson has neither.
The redshirt freshman popped up in a few games last season, but his reps were limited. There's a good chance this ends up being a wait-and-absorb type of year for Simpson.
With all of that being said, Simpson was easily the most highly touted recruit of this room. The five-star out of Westview High School in Tennessee was 2022's No. 4 quarterback recruit and No. 29 in the country. While a slightly more traditional passer, Simpson was praised for his ability to create and improvise in and around the pocket, a skillset Young developed throughout his Alabama career.
Hopes are high for Simpson, and he'll likely have a chance to prove himself against MTSU.
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Will Alabama play three quarterbacks?
Middle Tennessee State in Tuscaloosa will likely serve as an open tryout for Alabama, which has not released a depth chart.
According to Saban, the path to playing time is simple.
"When you get your reps, you get a chance to play, you play so good we don't have any choice but to play you rather than worrying about all this other stuff," he said, per The Tuscaloosa News.
The other stuff will continue to matter, but at Alabama, the number of stars, familiarity, or age don't matter. The expectation at Bryant-Denny is to win.
While Milroe may ultimately get the start as expected, all three QBs should see playing time. From there, the winner of that battle has the ultimate test in Week 2: a Texas team looking to prove it is back, for real this time.