Stu Jackson

The Rams used the 13th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to select Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson.

Here are five things fans should know about him:

1) Baseball background

A standout, versatile baseball player, Simpsontold the The Jackson (Tennessee) Sun in 2021that growing up, he thought he'd end up playing baseball for Ole Miss, Mississippi State or LSU.

The two-sport athlete's future ended up being in football, but he credited baseball for helping him become a better football player, in terms of having a short memory and focusing on the next play/rep/at-bat.

2) Coach's son who grew up around football

Aside from playing football as a kid, he was alsoaround it regularlythanks to his dad, Jason Simpson, who has been the head coach at the University of Tennessee at Martin since 2006.

3) Learned the game of football at an early age

According a November 2025 story by ESPN's Mark Schlabach, once Simpson started playing tackle football, his mother, Julie, would record video of his practices and games since his dad was preoccupied with coaching UT Martin. After Julie dropped the camera off at Jason's office, a staff member would download the tape which Ty and Jason would then review together when Ty was a fourth-grader.

4) Kept the ball out of harm's way in record fashion

According to his Alabama bio, his interception percentage of 0.956% (five out of 523 career pass attempts) set a program record.

5) Stuck it out at Alabama

Simpson had to wait his turn behind Bryce Young and Jalen Milroe before getting his turn to start, but it wasn't as simple as that.

Milroe won the starting job in 2023 after Simpson redshirted his 2022 freshman season; part of the reason Simpson didn't get the role was because he was too hard on himself and it would cause bad plays to compound, former Crimson Tide head coach Nick Sabantold Schlabach last year.

Beyond overcoming that, Saban's sudden retirement after the 2023 season led to a coaching change Alabama hired Kalen DeBoer as its new head coach shortly thereafter and a crowded quarterback room that included Austin Mack, who transferred to the program following DeBoer from the University of Washington, and Julian Sayin. Sayin transferred to Ohio State nine days after DeBoer was hired. Ultimately, he decided to remain with the Crimson Tide, and even though he remained a backup in 2024, his patience was eventually rewarded after he won a three-way competition for the starting job.