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The Tuscaloosa News
2027 QB Trent Seaborn sees Alabama football future through Ty Simpson
- Story byThe Tuscaloosa News
- 2027 QB Trent Seaborn sees Alabama football future through Ty Simpson
ALABASTER — Jason Seaborn doesn't remember Trent Seaborn being a massive football fan.
Yes, Trent had that picture of him and former Alabama football quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on his wall from when he was much younger. But that was just Trent's friend Tua. As a football player, Jason said, Trent wanted to be his own person.
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But as Trent Seaborn, a 2027 quarterback prospect at Thompson High School in Alabaster, faced his recruiting process, one that ended in a commitment to Alabama , the question shifted. It wasn't about who he wanted to emulate. It was about who Seaborn resembles.
And Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson was enough of a picture for Seaborn to pull the trigger.
"Now he can see and be like, 'OK, those are the kind of throws they make. That's how I kind of move in the pocket too,'" Jason Seaborn told The Tuscaloosa News. "'That's sort of a rough sketch of my style of play as well. And he's very successful in the system as well, so it stands to reason that I can be successful in this system too.'"
Through watching Simpson, through growing up friends with Tua, Taulia and the rest of the Tagovailoa family, Trent Seaborn has seen what becoming an Alabama quarterback looks like.
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A Crimson Tide quarterback is a leader and the head of the "top program in the nation," Seaborn says. The Alabama quarterback needs to know everything. He needs to be an extension of his head coach.
That is who Seaborn has been at Thompson. He knows the ins and outs of Mark Freeman's air raid offense, knowing what is called before the head coach calls it. Seaborn knows where to go with the ball. He knows how to play under pressure, having led the Warriors to two state championships.
Thompson's quarterback Trent Seaborn (12) looks to pass against Prattville during their game in Prattville, Ala., on Friday October 24, 2025.
Seaborn will not be the quarterback to tell you he's the best. He knows his shortcomings. But he's confident that he's the perfect fit for the Crimson Tide.
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"Everyone will know I'm not the biggest, I'm not the fastest, not the most athletic," the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Seaborn said. "But I know how to run our offense."
Why Alabama football is right fit for 2027 QB Trent Seaborn
One October evening, when Trent Seaborn came barrelling down the stairs after a phone call with Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer, Jason Seaborn looked at his wife.
"He better not have committed," Seaborn said.
Trent never had a timeline. The 2027 quarterback said he was never going to put out a list of finalists. He was going to decide when it felt right, when he felt called.
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After barrelling down the stairs, Seaborn reassured his parents that he did not commit. But his mind was made up, telling DeBoer and his staff before the Crimson Tide's Oct. 18 win against Tennessee that he would join Alabama's 2027 class and announcing it publicly two days later.
"His heart has always been with Alabama," Jason Seaborn said.
Trent Seaborn saw all he needed to see.
In Simpson's work with Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb , Seaborn said it's an air-raid look like Thompson, but with a pro-style twist that will prepare him for the NFL.
But it was more than that. In Simpson, Seaborn saw the leader he can be, one who can blossom in his Christian faith just like Alabama's current quarterback.
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"I admire him so much," Seaborn said. "Obviously everyone knows how great of a quarterback he is. But his character and personality is something that you don't see in a lot of people. … The way he carries himself, the faith that he has, he always makes sure that everyone knows that where he got is through God and Christ.
"And also, the way that he stayed at Alabama to develop," Seaborn added. "He didn't hit the transfer portal. He wasn't looking for the biggest money options. He was looking to develop as a quarterback and as a person."
What development means for Trent Seaborn
Freeman has watched Seaborn develop from the eighth-grade Thompson "boy wonder" who led the Warriors to a national championship into the quarterback Freeman hoped Seaborn would be, becoming an "extension of what I want to do."
Thompson's quarterback Trent Seaborn (12) throws a touchdown pass against Prattville during their game in Prattville, Ala., on Friday October 24, 2025.
It's only getting stronger, Freeman said. Seaborn continues to develop mentally. And Seaborn's been through the fire, something that will only help him when the lights are on in Tuscaloosa.
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"He's felt that adrenaline. He's felt that anxiety," Freeman said. "For him to play in a loaded high school stadium, it's not (Bryant-Denny Stadium) at all, it's not that, but the level of adrenaline and anxiety, it can only go to so much.
"You look back and you're like, 'I used to be down there, but I persevered through. My altitude has increased.'"
Trent Seaborn knows how steep of a step he will make after graduating in December 2026. Every quarterback he's talked to has mentioned the "big learning curve," something Seaborn plans to flatten as much as he can in the next year.
Jason Seaborn knows there's more growth in store. But Trent Seaborn's growth, he said, is already exponential.
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"You don't have to say anything anymore," Jason Seaborn said. "Like he already knows certain things, or he already is initiating or being proactive about certain things that a leader should be. And you say, 'Gosh, maybe he's got it. Maybe he's OK.'"
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Trent Seaborn, 2027 QB, sees future with Alabama through Ty Simpson
