Could Alabama football starting quarterback Ty Simpson be the next Tennessee signal caller? According to recent rumors that have floated around social media, there is a potential of that being the case.
On Sunday, during the RTI Low-Down podcast, college football insider Chris Low gave his thoughts on those murmurs. On the subject of whether the Vols need to dip into the portal for a quarterback next season, he went into detail on the Simpson situation.
To him, he agrees that if Simpson doesn’t get a first-round draft grade, he’ll likely return to college, and it probably won’t be in Tuscaloosa. Instead, Tennessee and Oregon would be the schools to watch.
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“I think without question, Tennessee is calling the portal for a quarterback,” Low said. “The one that’s most intriguing, and Bama fans and Tennessee fans are going to sit up straight when I say this, is Ty Simpson. I do not believe Ty Simpson will be back at Alabama next year, I think he’s gone. I think it’s either he’s going to the pros and entering the draft, or I think he’s going to go into the portal.
“Ty has been around for a while. He’s a pretty savvy kid. His dad, Jason, is a coach. So, they’re not going to do anything without talking to the right people and talking to people who know, most importantly. Tennessee kid, who I think was interested in coming to Tennessee. It was that transition between Pruitt and Heupel. Sort of a weird time. I think there were other times during his career at Alabama, where he might have thought about transferring, and Tennessee was in his thoughts. It just didn’t end up happening.
“I think this time, if he does decide to transfer — his decision in my mind will hinge on simply this: If he gets the kind of feedback from pro people that he is a first-round draft pick, then I think he’s gone. I think he’ll go to the NFL. And you know what, he probably should. He got hit a lot, he took a lot of hits, he got hit a lot and this was his fourth year on campus. If he gets from NFL GMs, scouts, ‘Yeah, you’re the third quarterback in the draft. We think you’re going to go somewhere between 15 and 25.’ I think he’s gone.
“If that feedback is not that emphatic about, ‘Well, maybe you slide into the second round.’ Then, I think he’s going to look seriously at transferring, and if he does, then I think he lands at Tennessee. I think Oregon is the other school that I’ve heard the most about. But if he does transfer, if he does transfer, I think you’re going to see Ty Simpson as Tennessee’s quarterback next year.”
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Pete Thamel of ESPN also gave some insight into the situation on Monday. He said that he was told by Simpson’s agent that no decision on his future has been made at this point. The ‘most likely option’ is that he enters the NFL draft, but it is not a guarantee.
The upcoming stretch of days will be dedicated to the NFL draft process, as well. That is where the ‘majority of energy this week will be spent’, according to Thamel.
Tennessee has three quarterbacks on the roster for next season, with two as scholarship options. Of the duo, it’s high-four-star prospect George MacIntyre, who enters his redshirt-freshman year, and five-star true freshman Faizon Brandon. Both are extremely talented but have very little experience.
As the third day of the transfer portal madness rages on, Tennessee has yet to be tied to any quarterbacks on the market.
