AJ McCarron suggests there are two things a white quarterback needs in order to be successful, and Alabama’s Ty Simpson has them.

“As a white quarterback on a team that is predominantly black, you have to have some swagger and be able to relate to your Black teammates,” McCarron said on “The Dynasty” broadcast. “Honest truth.”

The former Alabama star added it makes things tougher if you can’t relate to your teams off the field.

“If you go out and you’re not performing to the best of your ability, it’s just the way it is,” McCarron, who won two national titles in Tuscaloosa, said. “Dudes will turn against you.”

He pointed out his childhood experience in Mobile was to his advantage in that regard.

“How I grew up is different that (former Alabama quarterback Greg (McElroy),” McCarron said, adding that isn’t a shot at McElroy. “Greg didn’t grow up probably around a ton of Black people in Katy, Texas. In Mobile, we’re probably 50-50. Where I grew up, it was 70-30, so I was able to relate to dudes even at an early age where (former Alabama and NFL linebacker) Rolando McClain took me under his wing.”

In addition to relating to teammates, quarterbacks have to ball.

“If you’re scared of competition, you shouldn’t have taken your ass to Alabama,” McCarron said. “But you have to build a rapport with every dude on your team and be able to relate to those guys, then be able to go out and perform.

“That’s what’s going to set you apart from everyone else. If you don’t have relationships off the field, when s–t goes bad, it’s going to be tough on you and dudes are gonna push you to the side and not trust you anymore.”

Good news for Alabama fans, though, as McCarron said Simpson has what it takes to be under center for the Tide.

“Ty’s one of those guys,” he said. “I promise you. Ty has some swagger. He doesn’t show it as much. You’ll see him at times. He’s dancing. He’s got handshakes. He’s got that swagger about him, and a ltitle bit of, which I love, cockiness inside the white lines that you need to be successful to play the quarterback position and the quarterback position at Alabama.”

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.