Nelson Chenault-US PRESSWIRE
The Alabama Crimson Tide seemingly entered the season with depth at every single position on the field except for one, and that was at quarterback. The biggest fear of Tide fans entering the season (and probably still now) was AJ McCarron getting injured and Nick Saban having to turn over the reins to an inexperienced quarterback like Phillip Ely or Blake Sims.
Well, in the Crimson Tide’s 52-0 win over Arkansas in Fayetteville, we got our first real look at the Crimson Tide’s backup QB situation with Ely and Sims splitting time for the majority of the second half.
Alabama’s biggest fears were realized yesterday when AJ McCarron had his hand stepped on after he fumbled a snap late in the second half in the redzone. Late in the fourth quarter, McCarron was seen having his hand heavily wrapped.
Nick Saban said after the game that McCarron is fine and could have come back into the game if need be. McCarron did play some in the second half after having his hand stepped on by H-back Kelly Johnson. The wrap at the end of the came was nothing more than precautionary.
But still, a moment like that shows how fragile a season is for every football player. It takes one instant, one little thing like that and your entire season could be changed. McCarron was fortunate to walk away with just a bruise on his throwing hand.
The injury he suffered accompanied with the lopsided scoreboard allowed Alabama fans to get a real glimpse of the backup QB situation and what they could expect should McCarron suffer some sort of injury that held him out of a game or two.
The backup` job seems to still be an ongoing competition. Redshirt freshman Phillip Ely came in for mop-up duty against Michigan in the season opener, and sophomore Blake Sims got the nod against Western Kentucky when McCarron exited.
This game was such a blowout, however, that both quarterbacks were able to see action as Ely took over for McCarron midway through the third quarter with the Crimson Tide leading 38-0.
Ely and Sims rotated series’ from there on. What I saw from the two of them was much better than I anticipated. Along with every other Alabama fan, I was afraid of what would happen to the Tide’s season if McCarron was to go down, but both backup quarterbacks looked good in mop up duty against the Razorbacks.
Phillip Ely looked calm and in control, and while he only threw three passes, he completed two of them for 15 yards, and the two completions were on very good throws.
Ely was solid, but Blake Sims was the most impressive of the two with his ability as a runner and a passer. Sims only threw one pass, completing it for nine yards, but he had a 27 yard touchdown run after a great fake on a zone read.
Sims has great ability to run the read option, and that looks to be a legitimate weapon for the Alabama offense. If Sims does become the primary backup ahead of Phillip Ely for the time being at least, and something did happen to AJ McCarron, the read option game would be the Alabama offense with Sims in there.
And Sims seems to have great control of it. His touchdown run faked out everybody sitting at home, everybody in the stadium, the entire Arkansas defense, and even the camera crew as the camera followed walk-on running back Ben Howell as Sims calmly tucked the ball and ran unopposed to the end zone while the Hogs were still trying to tackle Howell.
The backup quarterback position looks to be in better shape for the Crimson Tide than most expected coming into the season. Ely is showing clear signs of progression, although he is still a project at the moment, and Blake Sims can be utilized as a legitimate weapon in the running and passing game.
Losing AJ McCarron to an injury would still be a huge loss for Alabama, but maybe it wouldn’t be as catastrophic as we originally thought.
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