Bama Quarterback Dilemma

Guest Post

By: Doug Webb

Twitter: @drweb66

The 2014 edition of the Crimson Tide will enter the season as one of the least experienced teams in the conference. Only Vanderbilt and Tennessee return fewer starters than the Tide and two other teams.

Alabama’s offense returns 7 starters including tailback TJ Yeldon. Yeldon along with fellow tailbacks Kenyan Drake and Derrick Henry will need to anchor a rushing attack capable of dominating early games. Why? Because AJ McCarron will be taking his talents to the NFL this fall instead of lining up under center for the Crimson Tide. McCarron, having exhausted his eligibility, held nearly every passing record worth having by the time he was done in Tuscaloosa. His absence leaves a gaping hole in Nick Saban’s offense.

That’s not to say other teams will be feeling sorry for the Tide. With the depth they have to choose from whomever they choose to replace McCarron will be surrounded by more talent than any other team in the country.

New Offensive Coordinator Lane Kiffin will be charged with delivering a new starter capable of moving the chains with the passing game, while at the same time protecting the football, something McCarron was adept at doing. Kiffin will have his hands full this spring evaluating and developing a group of five quarterbacks with little to no experience at the college level.

Senior Blake Sims has by far the most game experience though he was limited to mop up duty for the most part. His biggest contribution came against Georgia State when he was 14 of 18 for 130 yards and 1 touchdown. The senior dual threat quarterback out of Gainesville, Georgia likely feels unappreciated and underestimated. Despite the work he’s put in most Alabama fans feel he has little chance to win the job. With the transfer of former FSU backup Jacob Coker most seem willing to just hand him the job. Sims has always maintained he was capable of playing quarterback in the SEC. This fall he will get his chance if he can beat out Coker and the other candidates. In order to be successful Sims will have to show he has a full grasp of the Alabama offensive playbook and improve his accuracy and arm strength. Particularly on anything thrown outside the hashes.

Towards the end of last season Alex Morris had shown enough improvement to be listed as McCarron’s primary backup. Morris comes from the football crazy state of Texas where he attended Allen High School. The redshirt sophomore redshirted his first season at the Capstone spending time running the scout team. Morris has a strong, accurate arm and just enough speed to avoid most incoming rushers. He has improved his drop, footwork, and delivery steadily since arriving on campus and has engineered passing drills this winter to help build a rapport with his receiving corp.

Redshirt freshman Cooper Bateman travelled a long way to attend Alabama hailing from Salt Lake City, Utah. Speculation heading into spring practice has him having to travel an equally long distance in preparation to close the gap between where he is now and being a starter. The hiring of Lane Kiffin may prove of more benefit to Bateman than to any of the others on the roster under previous coordinator Doug Nussmeier. The lanky Bateman is closer in style of play to the quarterbacks Kiffin had at USC. Former Vols quarterback Jonathan Crompton was considered by many in Knoxville to be a lost cause when Kiffin arrived as Head Coach at Tennessee prior to Crompton’s senior year. Like Crompton at the time, Bateman is not to be considered a very polished passer. Under Kiffin’s tutelage Crompton led a far less talented offense than what Alabama will field this season to an extremely productive season, throwing for over 2800 yards and 27 touchdowns. He threw for less than 900 yards and 5 touchdowns as a junior.  If Bateman has the ability chances are Kiffin will be able to develop it.

Probably the least known and heralded of the group is Sophomore Parker Mcleod from Marietta, Ga. Like Bateman his build is somewhat slight at 6’3” and 200 pounds. He wasn’t asked to throw much in high school and hasn’t been asked to do so at all while on campus at Alabama. Mcleod has a solid arm, maybe the best of those on campus, and was considered to have above average football intelligence when he was signed out of high school. His time with Kiffin this year will go a long way in determining what his long-term prospects are.

The one prospect truly coming in with a clean slate is true freshman David Cornwell. Cornwell has prototypical NFL size and arm strength. He also fits the mold of the USC quarterbacks Kiffin was used to coaching. The one deficit on Cornwell’s ledger headed into spring play is a knee injury he suffered during his senior year at Norman North, in Oklahoma. While his recovery has gone well from both a physical and mental standpoint, he will be limited as to what he can do, which likely means no scrimmage work. He’s likely to be 100% headed into fall camp though which means he will be a part of any quarterback competition, and thus the final equation that solves who will be at the helm of the Alabama offense when the season opens in Atlanta against the West Virginia Mountaineers.

The only man not currently on campus, at least in Tuscaloosa, is the one most consider by far to be the odds on favorite to win the starting job.  Everyone has heard the story of how Coker narrowly lost the starting job at Florida State to redshirt freshman phenom Jameis Winston. Of course Winston went on to win the Heisman trophy as a freshman while Coker played only in mop up duty. Still, some noted NFL scouts have raved about Coker’s potential making him what would have been a highly sought after commodity once he decided to transfer if not for one thing. Growing up in Mobile, Alabama he grew up a lifelong fan of the Crimson Tide but was not offered until long after committing to the Seminoles his senior year. With the departure of McCarron and no clear-cut heir to the throne it was a foregone conclusion that Coker would transfer to the Capstone, which is precisely what he did. Once he graduates from FSU in April he will be eligible to enroll at Alabama for the summer semester and be eligible to play right away.

So while many believe both the spring and fall quarterback competitions to be nothing more than window dressing to the naming of Coker as the starting quarterback, don’t tell that to the other candidates and more importantly the Alabama coaching staff.

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Author details:

Name: Doug

Twitter: @drweb66