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Ty Simpson spent three years waiting for his turn at Alabama, appearing in just 16 games before becoming the Crimson Tide’s full-time starter in 2025. He made the most of it, throwing 21 touchdown passes against just one interception in his first nine games as a starter and leading Alabama to the second round of the College Football Playoffs.
Now Simpson is expected to be the second quarterback selected in the 2026 NFL Draft. NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks describes him as a “quarterback coach’s dream as a talented technician with the instincts and awareness of a 10-year pro.”
Simpson arrived at Alabama as a five-star recruit, with football in his genes as the son of college football coach Jason Simpson. Below, get to know Ty Simpson’s parents, Julie and Jason.
Ty's mother, Julie, is a constant presence in the stands during football season. However, in recent years that has meant splitting her attention across multiple games on the same weekend given Ty is at Alabama while her husband Jason is coaching at the University of Tennessee at Martin (UT Martin). Ty’s younger brother Graham also plays high school football.
The logistics are not always easy. “But I would not have it any other way. The only thing I would change is if Ty could play during the day, and the Skyhawks at night,” Julie told WPSD, a local NBC affiliate in Kentucky. “Just to be able to see them do what they love and reach their dreams, it's amazing.”
After Ty’s first full season as Alabama’s starter, Julie reflected on the journey that brought him there. “He’s loved this game since he was a little bitty boy,” she told The Jackson Sun. “He grew up in the locker room and on the field, and to watch him go out there and play and do it like he's always dreamed of…And he waited so patiently and knew he could do it. It was just a huge blessing.”
Jason has been the head coach at UT Martin since 2006, leading the Skyhawks to five Ohio Valley Conference titles over 21 seasons at the FCS program, the second-highest level of NCAA Division I college football in the U.S. Before taking the head coaching job, he worked as an assistant at Jacksonville State, Texas State, and Chattanooga.
In his playing days, Jason quarterbacked at Mississippi State and also played baseball for the Bulldogs before hitting baseballs for two seasons at Southern Miss.
Although father and son two now frequently coach and play, respectively, on the same day, each of them are keeping tabs on how the other is doing while focused on their own game. After multiple games this season, Ty has told reporters he would not take questions until he found out whether the Skyhawks had won. “It is a great feeling when both of you get to experience wins,” Jason told WPSD. “It means a lot to me that he would still be interested in my score, but he grew up in that locker room. This was his Alabama growing up.”