This is an opinion column.

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It didn’t go well for Auburn last season when Hugh Freeze decided to ride with quarterback Payton Thorne.

Freeze went cheap at quarterback and it cost Auburn wins. Thorne wasn’t an SEC-caliber quarterback.

Are there any similarities between Auburn in 2024 and Alabama in 2025? Yes. DeBoer is saving money with quarterbacks Ty Simpson and Austin Mack while other teams made obvious improvements through the transfer portal.

In the words of athletics director Greg Byrne, fans seem to think that Alabama has more money than the Vatican. That’s apparently not the case, though. Alabama is showing signs of football austerity while other programs are spending big.

Why didn’t DeBoer go after former Washington State quarterback John Mateer a little harder? Mateer was considered the best quarterback in the transfer portal after the 2024 season. There was a time when people had visions of him tossing passing to Alabama receiver Ryan Williams for the 2025 season. Mateer is now at Oklahoma, among the best newcomers to the SEC and plays at Alabama on Nov.15.

That’s a must-win game for DeBoer. OU went 6-7 in 2024 and Sooners coach Brent Venables is on the hot seat.

DeBoer is on the hot seat, too, whether he realizes it or not.

Is Alabama’s quarterback room this spring the best that it could be? I’d feel more comfortable with Mateer in Tuscaloosa. He accounted for 44 touchdowns last season (29 passing) for the Cougars. How many touchdowns did Simpson throw in 2024? That’s a trick question. Simpson has never thrown a touchdown pass in his collegiate career.

But between Simpson and Mack, someone needs to be better than Thorne. Otherwise, the DeBoer Years might be a short chapter in the history of Alabama football.

For Alabama’s sake, hopefully a better comparison to Simpson is Mac Jones. Jones waited four years to start at Alabama. Simpson has been at Alabama going on four years, too. Apparently it was all for this season.

Simpson is the frontrunner for the quarterback position at Alabama this spring, but that doesn’t mean he’s a candidate for the Heisman. It’s just his job to lose.

Alabama guard Geno VanDeMark played at Michigan State with Thorne. Now VanDeMark is preparing for the 2025 season with Simpson at quarterback. VanDeMark is close friends with Simpson, and he said something interesting on Wednesday that provided some insight into Alabama’s quarterback battle.

Considering Alabama’s basketball team is in the Sweet 16 this weekend, VanDeMark was asked who his basketball starting five would be among Alabama football players. His answer: Kaydn Procter, Wilkin Formby, Olaus Alinen, Billy Roby and Simpson.

In other words, four offensive linemen and the player many believe to be the next starting quarterback for the Crimson Tide.

For obvious reasons, someone had to ask VanDeMark to compare Thorne and Simpson. It was me.

“I only started two games with Payton at quarterback, but, honestly, they’re both good dudes,” VanDeMark said. “Love both the guys. Even though Payton was at Auburn. Definitely gave him some stuff for that for sure.

“But I don’t know how I can really compare them. I think they’re both great leaders, and good quarterbacks for sure.”

Thorne was a good quarterback at times. I’ll give him that. But those moments were few and far between.

Thorne was tough. That was his best characteristic. Had he been a little better, then Auburn surely would have upset Alabama in 2023.

Auburn’s Freeze learned his lesson last season. He thought he could save money at quarterback, but there’s no reward for that in today’s Southeastern Conference.

After everything we witnessed in 2024 with Ohio State, the league’s new motto needs to be “spend big to win big.”

Oklahoma knows what it’s getting in Mateer, a quarterback who DeBoer knows all about. Auburn upgraded with OU’s former starter, Jackson Arnold. At Alabama, they’ll be hoping for the best.

BE HEARD

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Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the book “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”