Tom Pelissero Reveals Drastic Change for Simpson Ahead of Combine

It's one of the biggest weeks of the football offseason, as 319 hopeful prospects will descend upon Indianapolis, Indiana, for the NFL combine. Among them are 12 former Crimson Tide stars who will look to elevate their draft stock in front of general managers, coaches, and scouts from all 32 NFL teams.

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All eyes will be on the quarterbacks, as the consensus QB2 in this draft, Ty Simpson, will throw on Saturday at the combine after weighing in and doing interviews with the media during the week. Simpson spent four seasons at Alabama, but was a starter for only one, leading Alabama to an 11-4 record, an SEC Championship appearance, and a College Football Playoff win in his lone season with the Crimson Tide. He ended the 2025 season completing 64.5% of his passes for 3,567 yards and 28 touchdowns to just five interceptions. Simpson also added 93 yards and two touchdowns on the ground for Alabama last season.

Simpson's stats tapered off during the second half of the season, however. During September and October, he threw for 1,930 yards and 18 touchdowns to just one interception. During November and December, he threw for 1,316 yards and eight touchdowns to four interceptions. Ahead of the NFL combine this week, NFL Network analyst Tom Pelissero revealed that Simpson was dealing with a significant medical issue and had lost significant weight ahead of Alabama's 38-3 loss to Indiana in the Rose Bowl.

"Now, for Simpson, the knocks on him are going to be he was only a one-year starter,” Pelissero told Good Morning Football. “The numbers tailed off later in the season. He doesn’t necessarily have the biggest frame, but consider some of the ancillary factors.

"Even setting aside the protection issues that Alabama had, some of the drops by the wide receivers, he also was dealing with a severe case of gastritis toward the tail end of the season, and was weighing in the 190s by the time they got to the Rose Bowl. I’m told he’s now back up to 215. He is going to look the part.”

As stated earlier, Simpson is widely viewed as the consensus QB2 in the 2026 NFL draft, with Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza expected to be selected No. 1 overall by the Las Vegas Raiders. Behind him, where could Simpson land?

"All the scouts I’ve talked to have said in this type of session, Ty Simpson really should stand out and be able to help himself,” Pelissero said. “Who exactly is going to take him in round one? Remember, there’s a couple of teams with multiple first-round draft picks. The Jets are one, the Rams, even with Matthew Stafford, are one. But needing a long-term plan, those are a couple of the teams that potentially could be of interest not just in the first round but in the top half of the first round.”

Simpson is set to throw at the NFL combine on Saturday, February 28.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.