18Champs
Member
With the advent of the spread offense, run-pass option and esoteric passing schemes, there has perhaps never been a greater burden placed on quarterbacks in college football. Ten of the past 12 Heisman Trophy winners have been quarterbacks.
But in recent years, one prominent teamās on-field tactics and strategy have notably diverged from the consensus. It has preferred quarterbacks who are not at the center of its offense.
That team is this eraās great dynasty, Alabama. The two recent Heisman winners who werenāt quarterbacks, in fact, were Alabama running backs.
The Crimson Tide, under Coach Nick Saban, will play Georgia on Monday night in the College Football Playoff championship game with the chance to win an unprecedented fifth national title in nine seasons. And the most remarkable detail about their remarkable run may be that none of those championship teams ā at the program that produced Bart Starr, Joe Namath and Ken Stabler ā had an elite quarterback destined for N.F.L. greatness.
āThe main thing is not turning the ball over,ā said Jake Coker, the quarterback on the most recent Alabama championship team, which won after the 2015 season. āBut also making the right decisions.ā
Saban is ānot looking for someone to take over the game, really at any position,ā Coker added.
Few expect the current starter, the sophomore Jalen Hurts, to alter the track record of recent Alabama quarterbacks. Coker recently retired from football; AJ McCarron, who led championship teams in the 2011 and 2012 seasons, has started three games in his N.F.L. career; and Greg McElroy, quarterback of the 2009 Crimson Tide team, is an SEC Network analyst.
Critics worry that Alabamaās offense does not test Hurts as the N.F.L. might and lets him rely on his legs. While Hurtsās mobility sets him apart from those previous signal-callers, he is in other important respects a classic Saban quarterback.
The Saban philosophy of quarterbacking can be summarized as: Donāt screw up. For Saban, who was an N.F.L. defensive coordinator under Patriots Coach Bill Belichick and coached the Miami Dolphins for two seasons, the quarterbackās main goals are to get the ball to talented backs and receivers, avoid big errors and let his typically top-ranked defenses do the rest.
āJalen has always been a guy that, because of his athleticism and his ability to run the ball, has made a lot of plays with his feet,ā Saban said. āBut I also think that weāve been able to help him develop as a quarterback in terms of his decision-making in the pocket.ā
What Makes a Nick Saban Quarterback
But in recent years, one prominent teamās on-field tactics and strategy have notably diverged from the consensus. It has preferred quarterbacks who are not at the center of its offense.
That team is this eraās great dynasty, Alabama. The two recent Heisman winners who werenāt quarterbacks, in fact, were Alabama running backs.
The Crimson Tide, under Coach Nick Saban, will play Georgia on Monday night in the College Football Playoff championship game with the chance to win an unprecedented fifth national title in nine seasons. And the most remarkable detail about their remarkable run may be that none of those championship teams ā at the program that produced Bart Starr, Joe Namath and Ken Stabler ā had an elite quarterback destined for N.F.L. greatness.
āThe main thing is not turning the ball over,ā said Jake Coker, the quarterback on the most recent Alabama championship team, which won after the 2015 season. āBut also making the right decisions.ā
Saban is ānot looking for someone to take over the game, really at any position,ā Coker added.
Few expect the current starter, the sophomore Jalen Hurts, to alter the track record of recent Alabama quarterbacks. Coker recently retired from football; AJ McCarron, who led championship teams in the 2011 and 2012 seasons, has started three games in his N.F.L. career; and Greg McElroy, quarterback of the 2009 Crimson Tide team, is an SEC Network analyst.
Critics worry that Alabamaās offense does not test Hurts as the N.F.L. might and lets him rely on his legs. While Hurtsās mobility sets him apart from those previous signal-callers, he is in other important respects a classic Saban quarterback.
The Saban philosophy of quarterbacking can be summarized as: Donāt screw up. For Saban, who was an N.F.L. defensive coordinator under Patriots Coach Bill Belichick and coached the Miami Dolphins for two seasons, the quarterbackās main goals are to get the ball to talented backs and receivers, avoid big errors and let his typically top-ranked defenses do the rest.
āJalen has always been a guy that, because of his athleticism and his ability to run the ball, has made a lot of plays with his feet,ā Saban said. āBut I also think that weāve been able to help him develop as a quarterback in terms of his decision-making in the pocket.ā
What Makes a Nick Saban Quarterback
