“The last thing I wanted to do was tarnish my legacy and go somewhere else where I didn’t go out of high school and I didn’t want to play,” Simpson said Wednesday, per AL.com. “… Hopefully in the draft whenever my name gets written on a card, they write the University of Alabama on there. It’s going to give me great pride.”
Simpson declared for the 2026 NFL Draft on Jan. 7. He reportedly fielded offers between $4 million and $6.5 million from Miami, Ole Miss and Tennessee.
A projected 2026 first-round pick, Simpson led the Crimson Tide to the CFP quarterfinals in 2025 in his first season as a starter. The redshirt junior took over after three years in a backup role when Jalen Milroe decided to head for the NFL because it was time to “chase my dreams.”
Field Level Media rates Simpson as a top-two quarterback along with Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza.
Simpson passed for 3,567 yards, 28 touchdowns and five interceptions in 15 games in 2025. He finished 41st nationally with his 145.2 passer-efficiency rating and did not rank among the top 10 Heisman Trophy vote-getters.
