Alabama’s Milroe, Simpson vying to replace Bryce Young

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama is once again trying to replace an NFL-bound quarterback with another who can lead the Crimson Tide to championships. Alabama coach Nick Saban said a major focus has been on the quarterbacks being able to process what the defense is doing “and not start drifting around in the pocket before you give up on what your read might be.” “As a quarterback, it’s not only just the plays that you can make — and I like both guys’ athleticism to be able to extend plays and get out of trouble and make plays with their feet,” Saban said. “At the same time, I think we’ve got to work on going through progressions and develop confidence in the passing game so that we can distribute the ball to other people who can make plays more effectively and more efficiently.” Milroe and Simpson are relatively unknown commodities at the college level who were highly rated recruits. “And if we see an opportunity to do that, we’re always looking for an opportunity to make our team better.” Milroe got the most on-the-job training last season with Young’s shoulder injury. Offensive lineman JC Latham said Milroe and Simpson have been “just improving every single day.” “I think after a summer of just being with them and jelling and just going over the plays,” Latham said, “I think we’ll be in great shape.” ___ More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25 Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25