Alabama football: Ty Simpson is going to be villain in new Clemson rivalry

At one point, Ty Simpson looked like he would be headed to Clemson, but Nick Saban and Alabama football beat out the Tigers for the five-star quarterback.

How do you become one of the most polarizing quarterback recruits in the country? You spurn an in-state school and another projected leader in your recruitment for Alabama.

Ty Simpson just made enemies out of two fanbases in Tennessee and Clemson after going from a lean to both programs over the court of his recruitment to picking Alabama at the last minute.

On Friday afternoon, Simpson committed to Alabama.

As if Simpson picking Alabama didn’t sting Clemson and Tennessee fans enough, he said that he can’t stop thinking about playing for national titles. Sure, Clemson will probably be right there in the playoff with Alabama for the foreseeable future but Vols fans know that they’re still miles away from that conversation.

Clemson fans aren’t as heartbroken here because they still have DJ Uiagalelei and a stable of talented quarterbacks but he’ll be a villain in the newfound rivalry nonetheless.

Dabo Swinney, a former Alabama receiver, has already helped to spark the rivalry by going over to the dark side but Nick Saban stealing what looked to have been the next Clemson five-star quarterback commit at the last minute just added fuel to the fire.

Is Simpson your typical villain? Not really, he’s a pretty mellow kid, but the fact that he had this change of heart to commit to a rival school warrants villain status.

And that’s going to be crazy fun to watch for the next 4-5 years, starting in 2022.