Tyler Buchner got the start for Alabama football in the Crimson Tide’s Saturday battle with South Florida in Tampa. He took over for Jalen Milroe, who threw two interceptions in the Crimson Tide’s loss to Texas.

When Buchner came out of the game in the second quarter, he wasn’t replaced by Milroe, at least initially. Instead, redshirt freshman Ty Simpson took the field for Alabama. Simpson had appeared to be taking second-team offensive reps during pregame warmups at Raymond James Stadium.

Simpson was a five-star prospect entering Alabama as a member of the 2022 recruiting class out of Tennessee. He competed for the starting job throughout camp.

“Ty has done a really good job,” Saban said of Simpson during camp. “I think all the quarterbacks have made significant improvement. I think Ty has made improvement. I think one of the hardest things to not get involved with is to be outcome-oriented and show your emotions when things don’t go exactly like you’d want them to. And that’s one of the things that I think has helped all of our quarterbacks, especially Ty, improve on.

“Mistakes are opportunities to learn, get better, grow and not get disappointed or frustrated in terms of how it affects the next play. And that’s something that he’s done a really good job of, and I think it’s impacted his execution in a really positive way.”

Buchner struggled mightily throughout the first half. He missed on several throws, including a deep pass to Jermaine Burton in the end zone. Buchner completed five of 14 passes for 34 yards before being removed.

Simpson took over with Alabama deep in USF territory with 4:19 left in the second quarter. His first drive went five plays for 13 yards, ending with a 30-yard field goal by Will Reichard to tie the game at 3-3.

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