How Alabama's Quarterbacks Looked in Final Scrimmage

Alabama head coach Nick Saban shares what he saw from the Crimson Tide's quarterbacks, plus how Dylan Lonergan has progressed through fall camp.

Katie Windham | Aug 19, 2023

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Alabama Crimson Tide

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The season is exactly two weeks away, and the Alabama Crimson Tide still does not know who its starting quarterback will be. When asked how they looked in Saturday's scrimmage, let's just say head coach Nick Saban kept things vague.

"They all got to play," Saban said. "They all took snaps. They all completed some passes. They all made some throws that weren't as good as they should have been. And they all got sacked. That’s what I saw.”

At this point in fall camp it is assumed that the quarterback competition has narrowed down to redshirt sophomore Jalen Milroe and redshirt freshman Ty Simpson with Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner still in the mix. However, buzz has continued to grow around true freshman Dylan Lonergan, who had a nice scrimmage Saturday.

Even though he was ambiguous with overall quarterback play Saturday, Saban did go into more detail about how the freshman has progressed through the fall.

"He’s done really well," Saban said. "He shows great ability, great potential. I think that the thing that he needs is experience.... He’s a talented guy and certainly a guy that we want to continue to try to develop. But he's done a nice job so far in camp."

As an 18 year old, experience is not something Lonergan can automatically get. It comes through self-assessment after mistakes and progressing and learning from those mistakes. It also takes playing time.

Even though there were still a few drops from the wide receivers that he would like to see cut down, overall Saban has seen improvement in the passing game from the first scrimmage to the second.

"I think we're more consistent in what we're doing," he said. "I think we're more confident, and so I think that's helped with the quarterbacks as well as the confidence of the receivers."

Katie Windham is the assistant editor for BamaCentral, primarily covering football, basketball gymnastics and softball. She is a two-time graduate of the University of Alabama and has covered a variety of Crimson Tide athletics since 2019 for outlets like The Tuscaloosa News, The Crimson White and the Associated Press before joining BamaCentral full time in 2021. Windham has covered College Football Playoff games, the Women's College World Series, NCAA March Madness, SEC Tournaments and championships in multiple sports.

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