Crimson Tide News: Alabama OC Ryan Grubb drops sincere admission on Jalen Milroe’s replacement

The Alabama Crimson Tide are gearing up for the 2025 NCAA season, determined to leave last year’s ghosts behind. Second-year head coach Kalen DeBoer will be under heavy scrutiny and faces a pivotal decision regarding Jalen Milroe’s successor at quarterback. Amid a heated three-man race for the starting job, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb offered a sincere take on the competition during spring camp.

The Crimson Tide has called off its traditional spring game, following a trend seen across several college football programs. Instead, Alabama will hold an open-admission practice, dubbed “A-Day.”

However, though calling off the spring game made waves around the NCAA, there is a far bigger elephant in the Tide’s QB room. Following Jalen Milroe’s departure for the NFL, DeBoer and new OC Grubb must find their starting signal-caller for the 2025 campaign. The quarterback battle currently features three main contenders: Ty Simpson, Austin Mack, and Keelon Russell. While recent reports suggested Mack had emerged as the frontrunner to succeed Milroe as QB1 in Tuscaloosa, Grubb’s latest comments may have poured some cold water on that narrative.

“I think we’ve got three really, really good quarterbacks, and I mean that. I don’t think anybody has separated,” Grubb admitted, per ESPN. “They’re all playing good, but they’re not playing great yet. You’re looking for the guy that’s going to be consistent, that can show up the same and make the same plays all the time.”

As expected

Given his experience, many fans expected redshirt junior Ty Simpson to run away with the starting job. However, redshirt sophomore Austin Mack and freshman Keelon Russell have mounted a strong challenge, keeping themselves firmly in contention to become DeBoer’s next QB1 at Alabama.

“I wasn’t going into this thinking, ‘Oh, I bet by practice 11 this will be done,’” Grubb added. “I didn’t think that at all, and I didn’t think that because I thought all three of them were good players.”