BAMANEWSBOT
Staff
Watching Jake Coker warm up during practice at Alabama on Sunday, youāre reminded of why he was so highly touted a year ago. At 6-foot-5 and 232 pounds, heās the very picture of a pro-style quarterback -- big, strong and athletic. He flicks his wrist and delivers an excellent deep ball down the sideline. He has a Howitzer of an arm, but heās smart enough to know that sometimes a Nerf gun will do.
With some of his passes, you see why Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher was so profuse in his praise of Coker after he graduated and transferred to Alabama last year. Fisher told anyone whoād listen that Coker was right there with Jameis Winston in the QB race prior to the 2013 season, the one that earned Winston a Heisman Trophy and the Seminoles a national championship. This offseason, Fisher doubled-down on the Coker-Winston comparison, telling ESPNās Joe Schad that he would pull out the scrimmage stats to prove it.
That may all be true, but numbers and the eye test donāt always jell. Because while some of Cokerās throws were on target in Bryant-Denny Stadium on Sunday, many were not. They were the same types of plays that cost him the starting job last season -- a beat slow on a slant, a touch high on a post, a little too late getting rid of the ball in the pocket. He had that look again, the one of a deer in the headlights. You know heās fast enough to run away and make something happen, but heās thinking too much to pick his feet up and move. You can almost sense the pressure of trying to become Alabama's starting QB weighing heavily on his shoulders.
Itās the same thing that happened a year ago when Coker couldnāt pull away from Blake Sims, a former receiver and longtime backup QB. Though Sims would go on to set school records, he was nonetheless limited as a passer, inferior to Coker in terms of pure talent. Simsā arm strength was below-average and his accuracy was OK. Nick Saban went no-huddle to put the emphasis on his athleticism and not his decision-making, and offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin moved from the aerial view of the coachesā box down to the sideline so he could take over pre-snap duties like motioning receivers and calling audibles.
Coker should have won the job but didnāt, and now there has been a rewriting of that narrative. Instead of focusing on his talent and experience in a similar system at FSU, Cokerās struggles last year have been explained away by his late arrival, his unfamiliarity with the locker room, and even the pressure of playing with expectations.
āFirst of all, unfair expectations for Jake Coker a year ago,ā Saban said prior to the start of camp, āwithout having been in spring practice and getting there late ... he was sort of behind the eight ball from a knowledge and experience standpoint.ā
On Sunday, Kiffin echoed that sentiment: āThere was probably too much put on Jake right away. You would compare it to an NFL rookie quarterback who held out because he didnāt have spring ball. People forget about that when all of a sudden the guy comes in and is supposed to be the guy.ā
Yes, it was a lot to ask of Coker to come in and be the guy. But thatās exactly what Alabama did. Otherwise coaches wouldnāt have brought him in. They wouldnāt have wasted a scholarship on a player with only two years of eligibility. So itās on them.
Besides, before last season, Saban was fine with the talk surrounding Coker. Itās only now that that attitude has changed.
āLet me just say this,ā Saban said at SEC media days a year ago. āWhoever the quarterback is at Alabama, they need to be able to manage external factors because there are a lot of them. The clutter outside -- what people say, what people think -- you have to be able to stay focused on the process of things you need to do to play well and not worry about that stuff.
āSo I would say that if you are putting too much pressure on him, thatās his fault, and he needs to learn how to deal with it.ā
But has he learned how to deal with it? Weāre only one week into camp, but so far the answer is unclear. He still looks like the same QB who couldnāt translate talent into on-field success.
Teammates, meanwhile, say Coker has handled the process well.
Chris Black said , ābut itās something you have to block out and play your game.ā
But were last yearās expectations realistic?
āNah, I mean coach plays the best player,ā Black said. āThatās all I can say.ā
And thatās it, in a nutshell: Saban plays the best player, not necessarily the most skilled on paper.
Alabama is a team with the talent to reach the playoff. Derrick Henrypromises to be a star at running back, Ryan Kelly has four years experience at center, and Cam Robinson is one of the most talented left tackles in the country. Tight endO.J. Howard is one solid season away from being an NFL pick, and the receiver corps, while inexperienced, is bursting at the seams with four- and five-star prospects. The defensive line could be the best in college football, and Reggie Ragland is among the best linebackers in the SEC. All thatās missing is a quarterback.
If thatās Coker then heāll have to prove it. Not during warmups. Not during practices or scrimmages. It will take real game action to show that he can handle the pressure of 300-pound linemen breathing down his neck, not to mention that of being the preseason favorite to win the West.
Whether he even gets that far remains to be seen. With David Cornwell coming on strong, Coker might see another starting opportunity slip from his hands, the last of his college career. And if that happens, no one will be able to blame expectations a second time around. He either blocks it out and performs, or he doesnāt.
From ESPN.com
With some of his passes, you see why Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher was so profuse in his praise of Coker after he graduated and transferred to Alabama last year. Fisher told anyone whoād listen that Coker was right there with Jameis Winston in the QB race prior to the 2013 season, the one that earned Winston a Heisman Trophy and the Seminoles a national championship. This offseason, Fisher doubled-down on the Coker-Winston comparison, telling ESPNās Joe Schad that he would pull out the scrimmage stats to prove it.
That may all be true, but numbers and the eye test donāt always jell. Because while some of Cokerās throws were on target in Bryant-Denny Stadium on Sunday, many were not. They were the same types of plays that cost him the starting job last season -- a beat slow on a slant, a touch high on a post, a little too late getting rid of the ball in the pocket. He had that look again, the one of a deer in the headlights. You know heās fast enough to run away and make something happen, but heās thinking too much to pick his feet up and move. You can almost sense the pressure of trying to become Alabama's starting QB weighing heavily on his shoulders.
Itās the same thing that happened a year ago when Coker couldnāt pull away from Blake Sims, a former receiver and longtime backup QB. Though Sims would go on to set school records, he was nonetheless limited as a passer, inferior to Coker in terms of pure talent. Simsā arm strength was below-average and his accuracy was OK. Nick Saban went no-huddle to put the emphasis on his athleticism and not his decision-making, and offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin moved from the aerial view of the coachesā box down to the sideline so he could take over pre-snap duties like motioning receivers and calling audibles.
Coker should have won the job but didnāt, and now there has been a rewriting of that narrative. Instead of focusing on his talent and experience in a similar system at FSU, Cokerās struggles last year have been explained away by his late arrival, his unfamiliarity with the locker room, and even the pressure of playing with expectations.
āFirst of all, unfair expectations for Jake Coker a year ago,ā Saban said prior to the start of camp, āwithout having been in spring practice and getting there late ... he was sort of behind the eight ball from a knowledge and experience standpoint.ā
On Sunday, Kiffin echoed that sentiment: āThere was probably too much put on Jake right away. You would compare it to an NFL rookie quarterback who held out because he didnāt have spring ball. People forget about that when all of a sudden the guy comes in and is supposed to be the guy.ā
Yes, it was a lot to ask of Coker to come in and be the guy. But thatās exactly what Alabama did. Otherwise coaches wouldnāt have brought him in. They wouldnāt have wasted a scholarship on a player with only two years of eligibility. So itās on them.
Besides, before last season, Saban was fine with the talk surrounding Coker. Itās only now that that attitude has changed.
āLet me just say this,ā Saban said at SEC media days a year ago. āWhoever the quarterback is at Alabama, they need to be able to manage external factors because there are a lot of them. The clutter outside -- what people say, what people think -- you have to be able to stay focused on the process of things you need to do to play well and not worry about that stuff.
āSo I would say that if you are putting too much pressure on him, thatās his fault, and he needs to learn how to deal with it.ā
But has he learned how to deal with it? Weāre only one week into camp, but so far the answer is unclear. He still looks like the same QB who couldnāt translate talent into on-field success.
Teammates, meanwhile, say Coker has handled the process well.
Chris Black said , ābut itās something you have to block out and play your game.ā
But were last yearās expectations realistic?
āNah, I mean coach plays the best player,ā Black said. āThatās all I can say.ā
And thatās it, in a nutshell: Saban plays the best player, not necessarily the most skilled on paper.
Alabama is a team with the talent to reach the playoff. Derrick Henrypromises to be a star at running back, Ryan Kelly has four years experience at center, and Cam Robinson is one of the most talented left tackles in the country. Tight endO.J. Howard is one solid season away from being an NFL pick, and the receiver corps, while inexperienced, is bursting at the seams with four- and five-star prospects. The defensive line could be the best in college football, and Reggie Ragland is among the best linebackers in the SEC. All thatās missing is a quarterback.
If thatās Coker then heāll have to prove it. Not during warmups. Not during practices or scrimmages. It will take real game action to show that he can handle the pressure of 300-pound linemen breathing down his neck, not to mention that of being the preseason favorite to win the West.
Whether he even gets that far remains to be seen. With David Cornwell coming on strong, Coker might see another starting opportunity slip from his hands, the last of his college career. And if that happens, no one will be able to blame expectations a second time around. He either blocks it out and performs, or he doesnāt.
From ESPN.com
