March 2, 2015
Aaron Suttles
TideSports.com Senior Writer
With the start of spring football is 11 days away, I decided to examine and rank Alabama's biggest needs coming into spring. The Crimson Tide lost a lot of key starters on offense and a few on defense. Only two full-time starters return from the 2014 offense in left tackle Cam Robinson and center Ryan Kelly. That means UA must replace a starting quarterback, running back, three wide receivers, a tight end and three offensive linemen. Experience-wise, Derrick Henry and O.J. Howard could be considered starters considering their game-time experience.
Michelle Lepianka Carter
Senior quarterback Jake Coker has the most experience of any quarterback on the roster.
The No. 1 need during spring? Finding a quarterback.
Football is now a quarterback-driven game. Either you have a productive one or you don't. By and large, the success a program experiences correlates with how good a quarterback it has. There are exceptions, but largely this holds true. In 2014, Blake Sims transformed from a question mark to a strength for the Crimson Tide, setting school records along the way. But now he's gone.
So where does offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin turn? Here are the candidates.
1. Jake Coker: The senior played in seven games during his first year on campus after transferring from Florida State. He completed 64 percent of his passes, going 38 of 59 for 403 yards and four touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked three times. He was the only other quarterback on the roster other than Blake Sims to attempt a pass in 2014.
Suttles take: Obviously Coker enters spring practice with an experience advantage. His knowledge of working in Kiffin's offense and experience of working one-on-one with him can't be overlooked. He has a big arm, and when he's on time, he's a weapon in the passing game. He has good mobility and moves around the pocket with ease. He's not a threat to run like Sims (he doesn't have the quick-twitch quickness), but he can get out of the pocket and gain yards with his athleticism. He needs to process information more quickly. There were a few times in 2014 when he had the opportunity to throw a wide receiver open for a big gain but waited a second too long.
As I mentioned above, Coker is the only quarterback currently on the roster to throw a pass in 2014. What that means is that we didn't see the others in a game situation, so it makes it hard to handicap their chances. However, I do get the opportunity to watch the beginning of practices and can you what I think of the rest of the quarterbacks.
2. David Cornwell: The redshirt freshman came to Alabama off a knee injury to begin last spring. Now he's fully healthy and ready to compete.
Suttles take: The things I like most about Cornwell are his confidence and his size. Sometimes confidence can be misplaced and lead to problems, but as a competitor you absolutely have to have confidence in yourself. If you don't, who will? At 6-foot-5 (his listed height, according to UA) and 234 pounds, Cornwell is a prototypical pro-style quarterback. What this suggests is that he is built to play the position. Obviously Kiffin's offense has changed Alabama's offense somewhat and Sims proved you can thrive in Alabama's offense with a dual-threat quarterback. I don't see Alabama completely scrapping its offense, but I do think the way Sims played opened some eyes. How Cornwell fits in with that is yet to be seen.
3. Alec Morris: Morris is the only quarterback currently on the roster other than Coker to actually take a snap in a game during his career. He was also Alabama's back-up punter in 2014.
Suttles take: Morris has ability, but the fact that he's never thrown a pass in his Crimson Tide career is telling. He's a big quarterback at 6-3, 230 and he has a good arm. What's unknown is how well he takes care of the ball and how he makes decisions under pressure. He was 3 of 7 for nine yards. no touchdowns, one interception and was sacked three times.
4. Cooper Bateman: He played in all 14 games in 2014 as the holder for kicker Adam Griffith.
Suttles take: Bateman's looked good during the practices I've observed. In the 2014 A-Day game he went 11 of 24 for 156 yards and a touchdown and no interceptions. He was sacked three times.
5. Blake Barnett: The true freshman is the highest-rated quarterback Nick Saban has signed during his tenure at Alabama.
Suttles take: From what I've observed of Barnett it's pretty easy to tell he's a leader. His teammates follow him. That's a pre-requisite for quarterbacks, but with Barnett it's not forced or faked. His teammates genuinely like him. He's a dual-threat quarterback at 6-5, 210 pounds. It's unlikely that a true freshman wins the starting quarterback job, but he's on campus early and going through spring practice. That's a plus for him.
- See more at: https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1742208#sthash.IX6CjjPA.dpuf
Aaron Suttles
TideSports.com Senior Writer
With the start of spring football is 11 days away, I decided to examine and rank Alabama's biggest needs coming into spring. The Crimson Tide lost a lot of key starters on offense and a few on defense. Only two full-time starters return from the 2014 offense in left tackle Cam Robinson and center Ryan Kelly. That means UA must replace a starting quarterback, running back, three wide receivers, a tight end and three offensive linemen. Experience-wise, Derrick Henry and O.J. Howard could be considered starters considering their game-time experience.
Michelle Lepianka Carter
Senior quarterback Jake Coker has the most experience of any quarterback on the roster.
The No. 1 need during spring? Finding a quarterback.
Football is now a quarterback-driven game. Either you have a productive one or you don't. By and large, the success a program experiences correlates with how good a quarterback it has. There are exceptions, but largely this holds true. In 2014, Blake Sims transformed from a question mark to a strength for the Crimson Tide, setting school records along the way. But now he's gone.
So where does offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin turn? Here are the candidates.
1. Jake Coker: The senior played in seven games during his first year on campus after transferring from Florida State. He completed 64 percent of his passes, going 38 of 59 for 403 yards and four touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked three times. He was the only other quarterback on the roster other than Blake Sims to attempt a pass in 2014.
Suttles take: Obviously Coker enters spring practice with an experience advantage. His knowledge of working in Kiffin's offense and experience of working one-on-one with him can't be overlooked. He has a big arm, and when he's on time, he's a weapon in the passing game. He has good mobility and moves around the pocket with ease. He's not a threat to run like Sims (he doesn't have the quick-twitch quickness), but he can get out of the pocket and gain yards with his athleticism. He needs to process information more quickly. There were a few times in 2014 when he had the opportunity to throw a wide receiver open for a big gain but waited a second too long.
As I mentioned above, Coker is the only quarterback currently on the roster to throw a pass in 2014. What that means is that we didn't see the others in a game situation, so it makes it hard to handicap their chances. However, I do get the opportunity to watch the beginning of practices and can you what I think of the rest of the quarterbacks.
2. David Cornwell: The redshirt freshman came to Alabama off a knee injury to begin last spring. Now he's fully healthy and ready to compete.
Suttles take: The things I like most about Cornwell are his confidence and his size. Sometimes confidence can be misplaced and lead to problems, but as a competitor you absolutely have to have confidence in yourself. If you don't, who will? At 6-foot-5 (his listed height, according to UA) and 234 pounds, Cornwell is a prototypical pro-style quarterback. What this suggests is that he is built to play the position. Obviously Kiffin's offense has changed Alabama's offense somewhat and Sims proved you can thrive in Alabama's offense with a dual-threat quarterback. I don't see Alabama completely scrapping its offense, but I do think the way Sims played opened some eyes. How Cornwell fits in with that is yet to be seen.
3. Alec Morris: Morris is the only quarterback currently on the roster other than Coker to actually take a snap in a game during his career. He was also Alabama's back-up punter in 2014.
Suttles take: Morris has ability, but the fact that he's never thrown a pass in his Crimson Tide career is telling. He's a big quarterback at 6-3, 230 and he has a good arm. What's unknown is how well he takes care of the ball and how he makes decisions under pressure. He was 3 of 7 for nine yards. no touchdowns, one interception and was sacked three times.
4. Cooper Bateman: He played in all 14 games in 2014 as the holder for kicker Adam Griffith.
Suttles take: Bateman's looked good during the practices I've observed. In the 2014 A-Day game he went 11 of 24 for 156 yards and a touchdown and no interceptions. He was sacked three times.
5. Blake Barnett: The true freshman is the highest-rated quarterback Nick Saban has signed during his tenure at Alabama.
Suttles take: From what I've observed of Barnett it's pretty easy to tell he's a leader. His teammates follow him. That's a pre-requisite for quarterbacks, but with Barnett it's not forced or faked. His teammates genuinely like him. He's a dual-threat quarterback at 6-5, 210 pounds. It's unlikely that a true freshman wins the starting quarterback job, but he's on campus early and going through spring practice. That's a plus for him.
- See more at: https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1742208#sthash.IX6CjjPA.dpuf
