Evaluating Alabamaâs quarterbacks after 3 play against MTSU in Week 1

It was hard to find an issue in Alabama’s season-opening win over Middle Tennessee State, especially with the quarterbacks. Thanks to the 56-7 blowout, the Crimson Tide was able to accomplish what Saban told starter Jalen Milroe heading into Saturday night: establish a big lead and let the other QB contenders get a shot.

Three of the four candidates listed on No. 4 Alabama’s depth chart earned snaps against MTSU and they each scored. Milroe headed nine of UA’s 13 series under new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner and sophomore Ty Simpson led two drives apiece with the Tide ahead 35 points at the time of Milroe’s departure.

Here’s what Alabama’s football’s quarterbacks showed against the Blue Raiders:

Jalen Milroe

Passing: 13-for-18, 194 yards, 3 touchdowns

Rushing: 48 yards on seven carries, 2 touchdowns

The full Milroe experience was on display. After a highlight reel-worthy 21-yard scramble touchdown after a low snap, Milroe completed his first seven passes, most of which came on intermediate crossing routes. And as Saban broke down postgame, Milroe was taking advantage of MTSU’s aggressive secondary with deep shots. The third-year player made it look relatively easy hitting Jermaine Burton and Isaiah Bond for 40-plus yard touchdowns.

With three minutes left in the second quarter, Milroe nearly threw an interception on a poor run-pass option read, but scrambled a play later and drew a flag on the tackle. Milroe then ran down the same side of the defense for a 13-yard touchdown. Most importantly, Milroe took care of the ball, especially when he scrambled.

“He’s a threat to pull the ball on his own plays which he scored a touchdown on that,” Saban said of Milroe’s tie-breaking run. “And I thought he threw the ball effectively. So I thought he played well. There was one play early in the game where they run Sonic-build Blitz and we’re supposed to check out the play, we didn’t get a check. So there’s always things like that you can do a little bit better. But I think that experience is basically an accumulation of things that you learn from the mistakes that you make. That’s what experience is. And I think as he continues to develop and gain experience, he’s going to play better and better. But I thought he played well tonight.”

Tyler Buchner

Passing: 3-for-5, 27 yards

Rushing: 9 yards on one carry, 1 touchdown

It’s slightly harder to evaluate Buchner and Simpson for their late work when the rout was well underway. Yet, it’s telling that after not separating any of the four quarterbacks on the depth chart, they each had the ‘or’ designation, the Tide kept its first-team offensive line when Buchner checked in.

Buchner tried to rip a pair of fly-routes against one-on-one matchups and neither found the target, the second was nearly intercepted after hanging in the air for too long. But Buchner had one of the nicer throws of the night with a 20-yard completion to tight end Amari Niblack. The ball was filtered between a linebacker and safety near midfield in what Saban called a “really nice catch” postgame.

Buchner’s score came on read-option in the red zone. He kept the ball, juked a safety and skirted around a blocker for a 9-yard touchdown, his first in Tuscaloosa.

Ty Simpson

Passing: 1-for-1, 5 yards

Rushing: 12 yards on two carries, 1 touchdown

Simpson came in for more handoffs, taking over for Buchner with 9:18 remaining in the game. Simpson attempted and completed, one pass on 1st-and-goal from the MTSU 6-yard-line, hitting freshman wide reciever Jalen Hale in the chest on a slant route.

Hale was stopped short, and Simpson rolled his head back in his helmet as the referee signaled it wasn’t a touchdown. But the sophomore would convert a sneak one play later for UA’s last points of the night.

Rewinding Alabama football’s 56-7 romp over Middle Tennessee for Week 1 win

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].