INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Arriving in Los Angeles Friday, Ty Simpson was nearly four months removed from playing in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
Could he have envisioned returning to the area?
"What's so funny, too, we did a walkthrough in SoFi (Stadium), and it was raining, too," Simpson said from the team's draft headquarters. "So I was like, 'Man, this is really weird. Like, why am I feeling rain? And it's in Cali, it's like a dome.' So that was the last thing I ever thought about SoFi. And then, ironically enough, it's going to be my home stadium. So I'm I guess, like a redneck in Los Angeles, California (smiles). So we'll see how that goes. But I'm super, super excited to be here. This is a great place with great people, and I can't wait to get started."
Less than 24 hours removed from being selected 13th overall by the Rams in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, Simpson is getting help with that.
He said that Matthew Stafford's wife, Kelly, messaged him to welcome him to Los Angeles and offered to help him and his family with the transition. Safety Quentin Lake also texted him shortly after he got drafted. Simpson said he's looking forward to talking to Stafford as well.
"I'm super ecstatic, because I just want to pick his brain about everything, soak up all that knowledge," Simpson said. "That dude, how he goes about things is super, super awesome. I've been a big fan for a long time."
Head coach Sean McVay in his post-Day 1 press conference with general manager Les Snead said there were "a lot of things" that Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb did that are "similar to how we operate," which aided the evaluation of how that would translate to the next level. The "concepts, reading with his feet, some of the different things in the drop back in the play action game, the movement game," also had carryover.
"Everything's just so detailed oriented, and that's how we were at Alabama," said Simpson, who told reporters Thursday night he watched Rams film while at Alabama. "Coach Grubb was very, very detailed when it came to steps, footwork, play, yardage."
That detailed approach is what Simpson attributed to his success in play-action, which the Rams also run a lot of.
"That's something that coach McVay is very, very adamant on, and coach Grubb is very adamant on," Simpson said. "And then, of course, I've been doing it at a young age with my dad, watching his practices, doing the footwork under center, it feels very natural to me. But I feel like there's a great benefit in watching play fakes and making sure that they're the same as the run plays. And so I'm anxious to see how we do it and how practice is ran, but just super excited."
Similar to his time at Alabama, where he sat for three years behind Jalen Milroe and Bryce Young before becoming the starter, Simpson's transition to the NFL will involving patiently biding his time as well.
Having taken a chance on himself by entering the NFL Draft this year, and being rewarded by becoming a first-round pick, he will happily wait and work to earn the opportunity whenever that time comes, within a quarterback room and organization he feels fortunate to be a part of.
"I have no regrets at all," Simpson said. "Like you said, I bet on myself. I felt like I was ready, and now I just got to prove it, right? Like I said, it starts today. I just got to keep on getting better and better and better. (Former Alabama head) coach (Nick) Saban, always said, 'This is not the end. This is just the beginning.' But this is just the beginning of my NFL career. I'm going to make sure that I'm fortunate enough to have a long career like Matthew."
