Alabama Wide Receivers Coach Evaluates Quarterback Room

Co-OC and wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard is impressed with the Alabama quarterback room entering the 2024 season.

Mar 6, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama quarterbacks Ty Simpson (15), Dylan Lonergan (12), Cade Carruth (16), Jalen MIlroe (4) and Austin Mack (10) wait for a drill to begin during practice for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team Wednesday. / Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA

It's a commonly held belief that Alabama has one of the best returning quarterbacks in all of college football in Jalen Milroe, but what many may not realize is the depth of the Crimson Tide quarterback room behind the returning starter.

Appearing on Tide 100.9's Inside the Locker Room with Barry and Wimp Sanderson, Alabama co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard gave his evaluation of the Crimson Tide quarterback room heading into the 2024 season.

"We’ve got guys in there who, at any point can throw the ball at a very high level," Shephard said. "Obviously a lot of it starts with Jalen Milroe. He had a phenomenal spring, just learning the system and understanding how we wanted him to read the concepts. His leadership qualities were on display fully throughout the spring. It was fun to watch what this young man can do, honestly, just having been a part of an offense where the quarterback might be the most athletic guy on the football field."

Milroe finished sixth place in Heisman Trophy voting a season ago and is a fixture on many preseason Heisman lists heading into the season. But behind him sits a former 5-star quarterback that elected to stay at Alabama and compete rather than transfer elsewhere.

“Ty Simpson, his growth and maturation throughout the spring, he started to operate the offense and an extremely high level," Shephard said. "He’s a playmaker, honestly. He’s been a playmaker all throughout the spring, I’ve enjoyed seeing him."

Shephard continued to speak highly of the remaining two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster, redshirt freshman Dylan Lonergan, a 4-star recruit in 2023, and redshirt freshman Austin Mack, a 6-foot-6 specimen who transferred from Washington, following head coach Kalen DeBoer.

“Dylan Lonergan, once he got out there he got rolling. He showed he’s got natural arm ability," Shephard said. "Then Austin Mack, he’s a young buck, but he showed flashes throughout the entire spring that there’s going to be a time and a place for him at some point here at Alabama."

The job undoubtedly appears to be Milroe's for the time being, but this Alabama quarterback room looks to be one of the deepest Tuscaloosa has seen in a long time, and possibly the deepest in the entire country. There's no reason to believe Alabama will struggle to find a signal-caller anytime in the near future.

“I feel like we’ve got a pretty good room there," Shephard said. "Very rarely do you get to carry four quarterbacks in the room, and four lethal ones at that. I’m really excited about what that room is going to do this fall."