August 2, 2015
Cecil Hurt
TideSports.com Columnist
August has arrived. Inevitably, a decision must follow.
Someone has to run onto the field for the University of Alabama's first offensive play against Wisconsin in less than five weeks. Someone has to throw the first pass, preferably to a teammate. Nick Saban is not reverting to the single wing.
But I still don't think that decision has been made in a backroom somewhere. In the upcoming week, we will get a better idea about who the starting quarterback will be (I just typed 80 words before actually using the word "quarterback," a record that may not be broken by anyone covering the team this month). Practice will begin. Reporters will visit with Saban in a less guarded situation than the imposing Big Room at SEC Media Days. We may also get a chance to hear from Lane Kiffin. That's the usual routine in opening week.
There is also an open practice next Sunday where the obsessed - and who isn't obsessed with Alabama quarterbacks - get to analyze things like the number of practice snaps taken and the decibel level of Saban's displeasure with any mistakes.
People are getting anxious. Some "analysts" are already making the call for one candidate or another, hinting that Saban has pulled them aside, thrown a friendly arm around their shoulder and whispered, "I don't want you to tell anybody this, but..." It doesn't work that way.
Others are trying to shoehorn this year's race into last year's circumstances, but it isn't a fit. None of this year's candidates have Blake Sims' exact skill set. There's no one who has waited his turn for four years in Tuscaloosa. I think the most revealing Saban quote of the entire summer came when he talked about Sims "winning the team" last year. Not winning "the job," but, in the heat of August, winning "the team." Someone could certainly do that in the next few weeks, but it hasn't happened yet.
How do we know? Well, we know what Saban has said about no one "taking the bull by the horns." We know that Alabama would have been very interested in Everett Golson, the quarterback who transferred from Notre Dame to Florida State, had it not been a situation that would have required an SEC waiver. That was probably based more on prudence than panic, but it does not hint at some leader in the clubhouse with an insurmountable lead.
Will Alabama try to go with a "game manager," to use a term coaches and quarterbacks abhor? I'm going to quibble here. I do think the candidate that shows the least propensity to turning the ball over via the interception is going to have a heck of a shot. The pick-six that Sims threw in the third quarter of the Ohio State game with Alabama down by six points was huge, which is neither "blaming Sims" nor "making an excuse." It's a fact. No quarterback is gong to go through the season without being intercepted, but frequency will be a factor.
On the other hand, this is 2015. Quarterbacks don't have to make every play in Alabama's offense, but they will have to make some. So the race isn't automatically going to go to the "smartest" guy if he doesn't have the physical tools to make things happen sometimes.
Will it be Jake Coker? Will it be David Cornwell? Will it be one of the others? Today is Aug. 2. Check back on Aug. 30.
https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1788064
Cecil Hurt
TideSports.com Columnist
August has arrived. Inevitably, a decision must follow.
Someone has to run onto the field for the University of Alabama's first offensive play against Wisconsin in less than five weeks. Someone has to throw the first pass, preferably to a teammate. Nick Saban is not reverting to the single wing.
But I still don't think that decision has been made in a backroom somewhere. In the upcoming week, we will get a better idea about who the starting quarterback will be (I just typed 80 words before actually using the word "quarterback," a record that may not be broken by anyone covering the team this month). Practice will begin. Reporters will visit with Saban in a less guarded situation than the imposing Big Room at SEC Media Days. We may also get a chance to hear from Lane Kiffin. That's the usual routine in opening week.
There is also an open practice next Sunday where the obsessed - and who isn't obsessed with Alabama quarterbacks - get to analyze things like the number of practice snaps taken and the decibel level of Saban's displeasure with any mistakes.
People are getting anxious. Some "analysts" are already making the call for one candidate or another, hinting that Saban has pulled them aside, thrown a friendly arm around their shoulder and whispered, "I don't want you to tell anybody this, but..." It doesn't work that way.
Others are trying to shoehorn this year's race into last year's circumstances, but it isn't a fit. None of this year's candidates have Blake Sims' exact skill set. There's no one who has waited his turn for four years in Tuscaloosa. I think the most revealing Saban quote of the entire summer came when he talked about Sims "winning the team" last year. Not winning "the job," but, in the heat of August, winning "the team." Someone could certainly do that in the next few weeks, but it hasn't happened yet.
How do we know? Well, we know what Saban has said about no one "taking the bull by the horns." We know that Alabama would have been very interested in Everett Golson, the quarterback who transferred from Notre Dame to Florida State, had it not been a situation that would have required an SEC waiver. That was probably based more on prudence than panic, but it does not hint at some leader in the clubhouse with an insurmountable lead.
Will Alabama try to go with a "game manager," to use a term coaches and quarterbacks abhor? I'm going to quibble here. I do think the candidate that shows the least propensity to turning the ball over via the interception is going to have a heck of a shot. The pick-six that Sims threw in the third quarter of the Ohio State game with Alabama down by six points was huge, which is neither "blaming Sims" nor "making an excuse." It's a fact. No quarterback is gong to go through the season without being intercepted, but frequency will be a factor.
On the other hand, this is 2015. Quarterbacks don't have to make every play in Alabama's offense, but they will have to make some. So the race isn't automatically going to go to the "smartest" guy if he doesn't have the physical tools to make things happen sometimes.
Will it be Jake Coker? Will it be David Cornwell? Will it be one of the others? Today is Aug. 2. Check back on Aug. 30.
https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1788064
