Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson phoned an old friend and Oklahoma rival to help beat the Sooners this week.
Simpson admitted leading up to the No. 4 Crimson Tide hosting the No. 11 Sooners at 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday that he has been picking the brain of Texas quarterback Arch Manning, who led the Longhorns to a 23-6 victory over OU in the Red River Rivalry earlier this season.
Alabama QB seeks Arch Manning’s insight to crack Sooners' defense
According to Simpson, he and Manning have been close friends since middle school and talk weekly to exchange tips on common opponents, including Georgia and Vanderbilt for Manning’s benefit.
“We worked out together a couple times,” Simpson said. “Of course, we had a ton of respect for each other, just because of us being two of the best quarterbacks. How similar we are. We just love ball. We’ll hang out outside of football. He’s a nut ...
“A ton of respect to him and his family and his brother. He’s a really good friend. A good friend to have.”
Manning hasn’t been outstanding, but he still did enough to beat the Sooners while completing 21 of his 27 passes for 166 yards and one touchdown without an interceptions. Manning has also now faced OU’s elite defense firsthand from a quarterback’s perspective, compared to whatever film Simpson has to dissect throughout the week.
Simpson will take all the help he can get before taking on OU’s defense that ranks seventh in the country in total defense. The Sooners are also third in college football with 33 sacks, averaging 3.67 a game, but Manning was sacked just once by the Sooners.
“It was a good game, so I asked him a couple questions,” Simpson said. “He asked me a couple questions about Vanderbilt and about Georgia. Quarterback etiquette, talking to one another, ‘Hey what did you see? What did they do here?’ Just about plays and fronts in general. Stuff we talk about not just as friends, but quarterbacks as well.”