{"id":352887,"date":"2025-11-03T15:32:21","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T15:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/352887\/"},"modified":"2025-11-03T15:32:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T15:32:21","slug":"ty-simpson-the-tennessee-town-ut-martin-team-and-people-that-raised-star-alabama-qb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/352887\/","title":{"rendered":"Ty Simpson: The Tennessee town, UT Martin team and people that raised star Alabama QB"},"content":{"rendered":"

MARTIN, Tenn. \u2014 Ty Simpson<\/a> got the University of Tennessee at Martin into some NCAA trouble when he was a ninth grader.<\/p>\n

At least that\u2019s how the UT Martin compliance coordinator at the time saw it. Simpson, as a high school freshman, had been in line with the quarterbacks for practice at the Division I, FCS school. He was practicing and throwing with them. Then someone in compliance flagged it and Jason Simpson<\/a>, Ty\u2019s dad and the coach of the Skyhawks, caught heat for it.<\/p>\n

Ty\u2019s explanation?<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t think practice had started.<\/p>\n

Compliance made clear Ty couldn\u2019t be out there. He was a recruitable athlete. As a result, UT Martin was docked one hour of the 20 allotted hours of practice time that week.<\/p>\n

So, Ty had to watch like a dog in the window.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was pitiful,\u201d said Julie Simpson, his mom<\/a>. \u201cI would just look at him and go, \u2018you can\u2019t go out there.\u2019 \u2026 Which was very frustrating to him. He was not happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was like limiting Ty in his own house. The 7,500-seat stadium<\/a> and the connected football building have been home to him since he was 3. Jason was hired at UTM in late 2005<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the small town of Martin, Tennessee<\/a>, with a population of about 11,000, the rectangle building became Ty\u2019s classroom. His dad became his teacher.<\/p>\n

A recent three-day visit to the city in northwest Tennessee revealed the Martin upbringing that built Ty. That includes the people who raised him, a small town that supported him and a college football program that taught him the game he thrives in today.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talk about Martin Made,\u201d Jason said. \u201cWhat I\u2019ve tried to do is create a mindset of toughness \u2026 I think that mindset for Ty has helped him.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Jason Simpson (left) with his son Ty Simpson (right) at a UT Martin game. \u00a0Contributed image<\/p>\n

Masterclass in college football<\/p>\n

Jason walked out the front door of the football facility at about 4 p.m. to go to practice. Players were warming up on the overcast, brisk Tuesday. As Jason sauntered, he told the story of Ty making the short drive to the facility himself at 14.<\/p>\n

Small town things.<\/p>\n

Ty often arrived around 5:30 a.m. That gave him the chance to use a college weight room as a high schooler. Ty usually brought the keys to unlock it for other players, per former UT Martin quarterback Dresser Winn<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Ty would call Winn to tell him he was going to work out if the quarterback wanted to join him, to which Winn would ask him \u2026<\/p>\n

Do you need a ride?<\/p>\n

No man, I\u2019ll meet you up there.<\/p>\n

What? \u2026 Alright, see you there.<\/p>\n

Ty then drove in a red F-150 truck and worked out alongside college players. He got to know them well, specifically the quarterbacks. <\/p>\n

Winn remembered one offseason workout when Ty was in eighth grade.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Graham, Emma and Ty Simpson stand on the field at a Kentucky vs. UT Martin game on Aug. 30, 2014 in Lexington, Ky.\u00a0Contributed image<\/p>\n

The quarterbacks were pushing sleds, which each carried four 45-pound weights. Each quarterback shoved the sled for about 20 yards, about seven or eight times. Toward the end, it was Ty\u2019s turn again.<\/p>\n

But Ty had disappeared. <\/p>\n

Then Winn saw the middle schooler at the trash can. Ty was puking.<\/p>\n

The drill needed to keep moving, though. So a coach told Winn he had to fill in for Ty.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I was pissed,\u201d Winn said.<\/p>\n

Dresser, push it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was about to be throwing up with him,\u201d Winn said.<\/p>\n

In addition to workouts, Ty often attended quarterback meetings growing up when his schedule allowed. Early on, Jason would kick Ty out of those meetings if he looked at his phone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it got to where he wasn\u2019t distracted by his phone and stuff and the quarterback meeting meant something to him, he could stay the whole time,\u201d Jason said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Ty Simpson (left) stands embraces his dad Jason Simpson (right) at a UT Martin football game.\u00a0Contributed image<\/p>\n

Ty started getting his games taped with a video camera in youth league football. When he couldn\u2019t attend, Jason wanted to see the footage from Ty\u2019s games. Jason would give Ty feedback like \u2026<\/p>\n

You did good here, bud.<\/p>\n

In middle school, film study turned into watching tape at the UT Martin offices, Julie said. The conference room attached to Jason\u2019s office with a rectangular table and a whiteboard became the classroom for Ty.<\/p>\n

Ty often pestered asking if the tape was up yet. Eventually, Ty got someone on the UT Martin staff to demonstrate how to work the tape so he could watch even when Jason wasn\u2019t available.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe spent no telling how many hours of film or watching film in that meeting room together with Coach Simpson sitting at the head of the table, and me and Ty on either side of it, getting into arguments, talking about some of his plays and my plays,\u201d Winn said. \u201cThat\u2019s always been special to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A view of Hardy M. Graham Stadium and the Bob Carroll Football Building on Oct. 28, 2025 in Martin, Tenn.\u00a0Nick Kelly | nkelly@al.com<\/p>\n

Ty attended many quarterback meetings in summers, but he even found ways to make some after his practices at nearby Westview High School.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a reason that he\u2019s able to see defenses the way he is now,\u201d Winn said, \u201cbecause he sat in so many of those meetings and asked questions when he needed to.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he was about 13, Ty made Julie take him to Walmart to buy a grease board for him. On the board, Jason came up with a defense. Then, Ty had to draw an offense in response.<\/p>\n

By 2018, Ty received his first college offer during the spring of his eighth grade year from Jim Harbaugh<\/a> at Michigan. By the fall, Ty had about 10 offers from major college football programs. Teams were noticing the ninth-grader who was capable of throwing with the UT Martin quarterbacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my guys could run a post and he could throw and catch with them,\u201d Jason said. \u201cAnd my good players would want to go with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the summer before Ty\u2019s sophomore year, he secured an offer from Alabama, the program that one day gave him his toughest test yet.<\/p>\n

Ty\u2019s time in the fire<\/p>\n

Once Jason finished his speech shortly after 6 p.m. on Tuesday, the time arrived for prayer.<\/p>\n

Eyes closed, head bowed, Jason led his players, circled up in the middle of the football field at the close of practice.<\/p>\n

Give us the wisdom and strength to know what\u2019s Your will and follow You.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

UT Martin players kneel around coach Jason Simpson as he leads them in a prayer after practice on Oct. 28, 2025 in Martin, Tenn.\u00a0Nick Kelly | nkelly@al.com<\/p>\n

Ty would have witnessed these prayers when he attended practices. From the beginning, he watched his mom and dad model their Christian faith.<\/p>\n

So did Mike Sams<\/a>, who became the senior pastor of First Baptist Church Martin in 2008. Upon his arrival, Sams noticed Jason and Julie involved in college ministry. And every Sunday when he preaches, Sams can often look to his right and see the Simpsons seated about six rows back in the pews.<\/p>\n

\u201cChurch has always been important to this family,\u201d Sams said. <\/p>\n

Faith was, and is, for Ty at Alabama.<\/p>\n

Heading into his sophomore year, Ty had a chance to win the starting quarterback job. But he couldn\u2019t take advantage. Four weeks into the 2023 season, Nick Saban<\/a> named Jalen Milroe the permanent starter<\/a>. That continued in 2024 under Kalen DeBoer<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnytime I was talking to (Ty),\u201d Winn said, \u201che would always be telling me, \u2018I think I could help this team.\u2019 And I\u2019d be like, \u2018Ty that\u2019s just not what they want right now. When you do get your chance, you\u2019ll be fully ready and capable of doing what you think you can.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A view from outside First Baptist Church, where Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson attended growing up, on Oct. 29, 2025 in Martin, Tenn.\u00a0Nick Kelly | nkelly@al.com<\/p>\n

Jason and Julie reminded Ty of a moment in high school when he was watching his brother Graham\u2019s game. Ty\u2019s college decision was coming up, and that day, he shared with his parents that God told him he needed to go to Alabama.<\/p>\n

So his parents wanted to know, years later, what changed?<\/p>\n

Jason made clear he was working in the background, that if Ty said God told him he needed to leave, Jason wouldn\u2019t tell his son no. But if Ty felt God\u2019s will was for him to be at Alabama, sitting wasn\u2019t a reason to leave.<\/p>\n

Ty had plenty of chances to depart, especially after Saban retired. Julie was in Tuscaloosa that day, when opportunities immediately emerged.<\/p>\n

No, I need to stay. I need to stick this out. This is where I wanted to be.<\/p>\n

But that decision was tested. Julie remembers moments when Ty broke down.<\/p>\n

I know God wanted me here. I know this is where I\u2019m supposed to be. So why is it not working out like it\u2019s supposed to be? Or like I wanted it to?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

From left to right: Jason Simpson, Emma Simpson, Ty Simpson, Julie Simpson and Graham Simpson stand together in Tuscaloosa out the Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility.\u00a0Contributed image<\/p>\n

At First Baptist in Martin, one of the topics Ty\u2019s pastor talks about is the testing of faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow God uses time in the fire to refine us,\u201d Sams said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s not pleasant. And there\u2019s nothing in scripture that says going through difficult times or hardship is comfortable. In fact, that makes us very uncomfortable. But it exposes the things in us that are flawed so that those things can be removed, so that what\u2019s left in the end is something that is far more durable and sturdy than what we had before.\u201d<\/p>\n

At one point while waiting his turn to be the starting quarterback, Ty cried after a spring scrimmage. In that moment, it didn\u2019t feel fun to him anymore, he shared earlier this season<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Then Jason asked him a question.<\/p>\n

How\u2019s your faith?<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to sit back, and I was like \u2018man you\u2019re right,\u2019\u201d Ty said. \u201cI\u2019m more worried about how people perceive me in football than they do how I walk in my faith or how I am as a person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ty decided to pray and give everything to God instead of worrying and being anxious, remembering he was in Tuscaloosa for a reason.<\/p>\n

Ty, Jason said, knew one good year at Alabama could get him to his dreams. He just needed one good year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just wasn\u2019t in God\u2019s plan for him to be playing,\u201d Winn said, \u201cbut he also knew that it was in God\u2019s plan for him to be at the University of Alabama, playing with all those guys he\u2019s been friends with and the coaches that he trusted and that he loved being around. So I think, yeah, it was a huge part of his faith and a really cool testament to him sticking around. And he\u2019s got a good story to tell now.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Jason Simpson, Graham Simpson, Julie Simpson and Ty Simpson stand together at a UT Martin game.\u00a0Contributed image<\/p>\n

Bringing Martin to Tuscaloosa<\/p>\n

Blake Stoker emerged from the kitchen with enough meat and sides to feed a family.<\/p>\n

The namesake of Blake\u2019s at Southern Milling<\/a> filled two trays worth of BBQ on Wednesday. He brought Ty\u2019s typical order and then some.<\/p>\n

Ribs. Brisket. Wings. Baked beans. Pimento cheese and more. Much more. <\/p>\n

Ty might be a long way from Martin, but the Alabama quarterback still gets a taste of home after many games. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an example of a recent order that Julie brought to Ty in Tuscaloosa:<\/p>\n