Report: Blake Sims to start at QB over Jake Coker for Alabama Crimson Tide
The biggest question facing the Alabama Crimson Tide this season is who will be the team’s starting quarterback. According to CBSSports’ Jeremy Fowler, the answer is fifth-year senior Blake Sims who beat Florida State transfer for the job and will start against the West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday.
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Sims completed 23 of 39 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns as AJ McCarron’s backup and emerged as the front-runner to start after two fall scrimmages where Coker failed to make a strong impression on Nick Saban and win the job outright.
Coker is still expected to play in the opener as the Tide will play both quarterbacks in the game, although it is unclear at what point Coker will come into the game and how much he will play, but Fowler writes Coker is expected to play.
After transferring from the Seminoles it was assumed that Coker would walk right in to Tuscaloosa and be the team’s quarterback this season and play like the quarterback who was in a heated battle with eventual Heisman winner Jameis Winston last fall.
Coker was a few months behind Sims who had all spring to learn the offense of new coordinator Lane Kiffin and master the subtleties and nuances of the offense while Coker was facing an uphill battle.
He was faced with high expectations and on a number of preseason award watch lists, but will have to show he’s a better player in the games that he has been in practice and scrimmages to live up to the hype.
This quarterback competition could last the next two weeks as Alabama has Florida Atlantic and Southern Miss before facing the Florida Gators in Week 4.
Who would you start if you were Saban: Coker or Sims?