What Bryce Young departure means for Alabama football at quarterback in 2023

Alabama football has had a remarkable run of quarterbacks, and in the process, UA has turned into a factory for NFL players at that position since 2020.

Bryce Young is the latest, and he has a chance to be the highest drafted of them all after he declared Monday for the 2023 NFL Draft. There's a legitimate possibility he could be the first player selected. The Houston Texans are expected to own that pick, and they need a quarterback.

As a result, Alabama might very well be trying not only to replace a former Heisman Trophy winner but also the No. 1 overall pick at quarterback.

No pressure, next guy.

Replacing elite talent that departs for the NFL is nothing new for coach Nick Saban, who just finished his 16th season leading the Crimson Tide. But deciding who will take over at quarterback for Young is no small feat.

Simply put, the departure of Young means Saban needs a new quarterback. The big question that will persist through the offseason: Who will it be?

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Alabama has a variety of options as for whom will be its next quarterback. Speaking with certainty becomes more difficult in the transfer portal era, though.

The next quarterback could be on Alabama's roster, or he could join the team via the transfer portal.

The elder statesman on the roster is Jalen Milroe. The former four-star recruit has served as Young's primary backup during his junior season.

The 6-foot-2, 212-pound Milrose had to fill in for Young for about a game and a half this season. That's not an extensive resume, but between that and two seasons in the program, Alabama should have a pretty good idea of what he can do.

Milroe can make plays, but that occurred more via the ground than the air. Once Young left the Arkansas game with an injury, Milroe completed 4 of 9 passes for 65 yards and one touchdown, but he ran for 91 yards on six attempts, including a rushing touchdown.

The following week against Texas A&M when he got the start, Milroe completed 12 of 19 passes for 111 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Meanwhile, he ran for 81 yards on 17 attempts. Turnovers were a problem for Milroe, though. He had two fumbles in addition to the interception against the Aggies.

The other main contender, and perhaps the favorite on the roster based on pedigree, will be Ty Simpson. He's a former five-star quarterback who was the No. 3 quarterback in the 2022 class, per the 247Sports Composite.

Simpson saw limited playing time behind Young and Milroe as a freshman. Simpson's only game action came in blowouts when Milroe was done getting his reps.

Simpson saw 30 total snaps per Pro Football Focus, which came against Utah State, Louisiana Monroe, Vanderbilt and Austin Peay. He completed 4 of 5 passes for 35 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

When asked at the Sugar Bowl about Simpson's progress while working in a reserve role, Young said the freshman has grown "tremendously."

"Super talented," Young said. "Super gifted. Really just seeing him step up on and off the field. Him just being more comfortable. Him settling down. As a quarterback, the more you can understand the offense, the ins and outs, once you start to get that knowledge, everything becomes easier. The picture starts to clear up. You can see that growth. He’s gotten so much more comfortable in the playbook from when he first got here. That definitely shows up on the field."

Depending on how the competition shakes out in the spring, a quarterback entering the portal is certainly a possibility. Alabama adding a quarterback in the portal also can't be ruled out either.

Many of the top quarterbacks in the portal have already picked new teams, but there's always the possibility more could still enter.

Alabama also added two quarterbacks in the early signing period in four-stars Eli Holstein and Dylan Lonergan. Holstein has already joined the team and was with the Crimson Tide in New Orleans practicing for the Sugar Bowl.

The season opener against Middle Tennessee State is eight months away, so there's plenty of time through practices and scrimmages for this to be solved. And really, Young going out for the draft this year didn't catch anyone by surprise.

But after Monday as Young declared, the question of who is the next quarterback is officially one the Crimson Tide must answer.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: What does Alabama football look like at QB with Byrce Young's departure