Alabama’s QB1 race would’ve been a 4-man battle had this one player stayed back at Tuscaloosa. He fought for recognition under Nick Saban and Kalen DeBoer, but no doors opened up for him. But now, after making his way out to another program, that long waited opportunity is finally here. While DeBoer has named his QB1, this QB will also lead the charge for a program hoping to break out in its conference.
Alabama has a new QB1 in Ty Simpson, who gets the spot after two long years as a backup under Jalen Milroe. Not getting your due time on field for a period this long does start to get on you nerves. But Simpson stuck through it all, even when the program went through an upheaval when Nick Saban left. The QB had the veteran coach’s backing, when he entered the Alabama squad in 2023. With him came Dylan Lonergan, who was a great QB himself. But with Jalen Milroe ruling the show, and Simpson being the likely successor, he knew being Alabama’s QB1 might not be in the cards for him.
Lonergan transferred out in 2025, bringing down the battle to a 3-way status at Tuscaloosa. He found a home in Boston College, and has beat Grayson Cooper to be the Eagles’QB1 for their season opener against Fordham. At Alabama, Lonergan did not see much playing time, passing for only 35 yards, and rushing for 21 yards. But he comes with a phenomenal prep career report card. According to MaxPreps, Lonergan has 9,221 total yards (passing and rushing) and 91 total TDs under his belt. After 2 patient years, Lonergan will finally see some much-needed action on the field, now tasked with taking the Eagles above a 7-win finish.
Sources: Boston College is naming redshirt sophomore Dylan Lonergan as the starting quarterback, and he’ll debut for BC as the starter in the opener against Fordham. Lonergan is an Alabama transfer who came to BC this winter. He was ESPN’s No. 36 overall recruit in the Class of… pic.twitter.com/aMcyJ2QyZv
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 12, 2025
Dylan Lonergan will take over both Cooper and Thomas Castellanos, who split time as the Eagles’ QB1 last season. “I think Dylan will bring stability to that position that’s going to make everybody around them reach heights they haven’t done before,” P.J. Katz, Lonergan’s high-school OC, shared with the authors of The Price. He made use of his longstanding relationship with HC Bill O’Brien, who was crucial in his recruitment when the latter was the OC for Alabama. Katz noted that this bond was going to be influential for Lonergan, because of O’Brien’s hand behind developing greats like Tom Brady.
For Nick Saban, Jalen Milroe was his star for 2023. And for this year, the veteran coach batted for the victory of Ty Simpson. However, there was once a chance where Lonergan threatened to take over Milroe, emerging as a formidable QB in Nick Saban’s eyes.
Dylan Lonergan was once the ‘best’ QB in Nick Saban’s eyes
The former Alabama coach rarely pulled surprise moves when it came to roster arrangement. And that’s why, starter roles were usually reserved for veterans. In the extremely odd chance that a rookie outshined everyone else, Saban would’ve entertained that thought, Katz suggested. In 2024, Lonergan came close to making that happen. “Saban told those close to him that the QB he liked best was actually true freshman Dylan Lonergan, who had impressed during fall camp,” Katz added.
The OC then said that Saban had reportedly picked up on a brilliant quality of his, that helped Brookwood High win the regional in 2022. “The biggest thing is he’s not going to hurt Boston College in terms of turning the ball over and being a renegade quarterback. He’s going to keep them on schedule. … That was one of the big things coach Saban liked when he first got to Alabama, just how well he operated the offense, how well the offense moved, and how he did the little things right,” Katz noted of Lonergan’s role at Boston.
The past season was a troubling time at quarterback for Castellanos and O’Brien, who reportedly couldn’t see eye to eye. Castellanos is now at FSU, leaving the QB1 job up for grabs. Lonergan was able to beat out a veteran like Cooper, because he has 3,243 yards and 19 TDs in the bag, and started for one whole season at FIU. However, he does have a tendency to throw interceptions, throwing 11 of them in that season. Lonergan, throughout his prep career, threw only 13.
Three of Nick Saban’s last batch of QBs will take the center stage this year. Ty Simpson will be the key for Kalen DeBoer’s redemption, Eli Holstein will be starting for Pittsburgh, while Lonergan will be Boston College’s QB1. How far will he go in this new role, which is essentially his first proper season of college football? Bill O’Brien, on the other hand, was looking for a QB to prevent the troubles that came last season. Hopefully, he and Lonergan will be able to strike up a match this year. What do you think? Let us know.
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