[h=1]Is the Crimson Tide Quarterback Battle Taking Too Long?[/h][h=4] By
Christopher Walsh , SEC Lead Writer Aug 15, 2015[/h]
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Butch Dill/Associated Press
Nick Saban is still looking for an answer when it comes to Alabama's starting quarterback this season.
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — There are certain givens that
Nick Saban has come to accept over the years—things that he sees coming from far away yet remains powerless to do anything about.
Saturday was a perfect example. After his wife, whom he affectionately calls “Miss Terry,” watched this year’s team for the first time during the Crimson Tide’s initial scrimmage of training camp, Saban was well-aware of what the topic of conversation would be when he got home.
“I’m going to get a real earful about the quarterbacks, and who played best and who she likes the best and all that,” he said, although the coach would be the first to admit that her opinions about personnel decisions are usually pretty good.
Nonetheless, with the coach saying that none of his five quarterbacks really stood out, the overflow of candidates is beginning to draw parallels to the Republican Party’s presidential chase. Senior Jake Coker, redshirt freshman David Cornwell, junior Alec Morris, sophomore Cooper Bateman and true freshman Blake Barnett are all still in it, while fans are developing opinions about who should win based on very little information.
Saturday’s scrimmage at Bryant-Denny Stadium was closed. Players were off-limits to reporters, and Alabama didn’t release any statistics, which was unusual. Saban would have probably preferred to comment on politics instead of the ongoing competition/controversy, but he expressed his growing frustration that more of a hierarchy hasn’t developed.
“As soon as we start gaining a little bit of confidence in a guy and we put him in a situation where ‘OK, you have a chance to be the guy,’ then they have to take advantage of that,” he said during his post-scrimmage press conference. “They have to be able to take the ball and run with it. We’ve seen that a couple of times, and then it’s a little bit like, ‘Giddy up, whoa!’
Brynn Anderson/Associated Press
Alabama still has five contenders for the starting quarterback job.
“I’m just waiting for somebody one day to sort of break out and have a couple of good days and sort of say, ‘OK, I’m ready to do this.’ You have to win the team. I see guys struggling to win the team and then something happens, but that’s got to happen and somebody has to make it happen. I can’t make it happen. As bad as I want to make it happen, I can’t make it happen.”
For Coker especially, the only one of the five to attempt a pass in a college game, there’s more than one way to take this. On the one hand, he’s now been on campus for more than a year after transferring from Florida State and still hasn’t emerged as the starter.
On the flip side, as the lone senior, the longer this drags out, the better his chances are of starting the opener, even it’s by default.
“When AJ [McCarron] and Phillip Sims were here, they [alternated] during the first game, and that’s how we figured it out,” Saban said. “So do I want it to happen that way? No.”
If you go back to that first game of the 2011 season, McCarron completed 14 of 23 passes (60.9 percent) for 226 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Sims was 7-of-14 (50 percent) for 73 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.
McCarron ended up starting the following week at Penn State. Alabama won 27-11, and the job was essentially his. As a sophomore, he started every game not only that season but the subsequent two as well, and the Crimson Tide won back-to-back national championships.
A huge potential problem this time, though, is the schedule. The McCarron-Sims game was the first following the devastating tornado that tore through Tuscaloosa, and the rebuilding community couldn’t wait for the season to start. Against overwhelmed Kent State, Saban’s alma mater, the Crimson Tide easily won 48-7.
| Years | Player |
| 2007-08 | John Parker Wilson |
| 2009-10 | Greg McElroy |
| 2011-13 | AJ McCarron |
| 2014 | Blake Sims |
| 2015 | ??? |
Alabama's Starting QBs (Nick Saban Era)
Alabama Record Book
This year, Alabama opens against Wisconsin in Arlington, Texas (8 p.m. ET, ABC), in the marquee matchup of Week 1. Two weeks later, it’ll host an extremely talented Ole Miss team.
So one can see why Saban might be getting a little eager for someone to take a strong lead.
In the meantime, all five will continue to get reps as the team moves forward and starts preparing for the second, and final, scrimmage next Saturday. A year ago, that’s when Blake Sims finally separated himself from Coker.
Saban gave an inkling of just how much of a surprise that was when answering a question about how Alabama has been experimenting by using signs to quickly relay play calls from the sideline: “I’m not even saying that we’re going to be a no-huddle team, but we felt like last year we were kind of learning how to be a no-huddle team on the run because of the personnel we had. We thought it was best suited for Blake.”
Saban also provided a strong hint that Alabama’s game plan might go back to being more like it was two years ago, when it relied more on its defense and running game.
“I don’t think that we need to have a quarterback who has to win the game,” Saban said. “I think that if we could have someone who could play well enough and make good choices and decisions and not make the major errors that would affect the game, that probably would keep us in the game.
[h=4]When will Alabama's quarterback competition come to an end?[/h] This week Before the season opener Week 1: Wisconsin Week 2: Middle Tennessee Week 3: Ole Miss Submit Vote vote to see results
- [h=4]When will Alabama's quarterback competition come to an end?[/h]
- [h=4]This week[/h]4.0%
- [h=4]Before the season opener[/h]42.9%
- [h=4]Week 1: Wisconsin[/h]31.1%
- [h=4]Week 2: Middle Tennessee[/h]12.8%
- [h=4]Week 3: Ole Miss[/h]9.3%
Total votes: 2,210
“With the rest of the players that we have, I think we’d have a good chance.”
Being an effective game manager was a huge plus for McCarron in 2011. After the two picks against Kent State, he didn’t throw another interception until seven games later, against Tennessee on Oct. 22. He finished with just five.
As for whom Miss Terry likes, even Saban had to laugh when a reporter asked.
“I haven’t had an earful yet, but I know it’s coming,” he repeated. “The real head coach will speak."
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