Former Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson is still puzzled by Indiana’s defense.
Simpson couldn’t get the Crimson Tide into the end zone at the Rose Bowl in January against the Hoosiers. He could barely get first downs against defensive coordinator Bryant Haines’ elite unit.
IU held Alabama to just 193 total yards including just 23 rushing yards in a 38-3 blowout win. The Hoosiers had six tackles for loss and three sacks. Alabama was just 3 of 11 on third down, and 0 of 2 on fourth.
In an interview on the Downs 2 Business podcast with Ohio State’s Caleb and Josh Downs, Simpson was asked about Indiana’s defense. He gave Haines and IU credit for how well coached and disciplined the defense is. But he seemed to do it in a backhanded way, referring to the IU scheme as vanilla.
“From my point of view, they (Indiana) don’t do much,” Simpson said. “They do the same thing every down. And so when I got the ball, I knew exactly what was gonna happen. They just didn’t mess up bro. They were in the exact spot they were supposed to be, and they were so well coached. It was so much different than the SEC, where they’ll play man and they’ll do these unorthodox coverages.”
“I knew what they were gonna to do. We couldn’t really run the ball. We didn’t really throw it. It was crazy to me how it happened.”
Alabama’s offense didn’t play like it knew what was coming. And Simpson didn’t know what was coming when D’Angelo Ponds and Aiden Fisher combined to hit him and force a fumble. That late first half play would serve as a major turning point in the game and it would ultimately knock the Alabama quarterback out of the contest.
Haines isn’t very active on social media, but he always seems to notice when someone is talking about his defense.
And not long after Simpson’s comments starting making the rounds on X, Haines spoke up.
“Adorable,” Haines said. “We also, saw everything they (Alabama) were doing, on every single snap… It’s just that we exploited those cues. And didn’t get frozen and crushed by them.”
Here’s the full exchange:
Adorable. We also, saw everything they were doing, on every single snap… It’s just that we exploited those cues. And didn’t get frozen and crushed by them. pic.twitter.com/L3zjXB3c3I
— Bryant Haines (@Coach_BHaines) April 18, 2026
It wasn’t the first time Haines reacted publicly to commentary about his defense. A journalist commented on X in October about the size disparity between the Oregon offensive line and the IU defensive line.
“Didn’t realize how small & defenseless we’re gonna be. Oh no!” Haines responded to that assessment.
In 2024 when his defense was called for multiple targeting penalties at UCLA, but the Bruins were not called for a clear targeting foul when attempting to tackle IU linebacker Aiden Fisher following an interception, again Haines took to X.
“Glad that this is NOT targeting – We embrace it over here. No factor. We’ll get up and laugh,” Haines said. “That said, let’s be consistent— Let us BANG too!!!”
Haines won the Broyles Award following the 2025 season. That honor goes to the nation’s top assistant coach.
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