Alabama football is not rebuilding, they are simply creating a new and stronger identity. 2014 will be a fresh start for the Crimson Tide as several familiar faces have moved on to the NFL. That includes starting quarterback AJ McCarron who helped bring home two national championships for the football team. McCarron was tasked with replacing Greg McElroy who also won a national championship for Alabama and now, either Blake Sims or Jacob Coker will be the new quarterback in charge. However, with less than a week until kickoff against Virginia Tech, Alabama has yet to name a starter.
The latest depth charter for Alabama has Coker and Sims both listed at No. 1. Head coach Nick Saban spoke with the media during his Monday press conference and said the team was not totally certain who would be the starter and what the rotation would look like. Sims is the veteran while Coker transferred from Florida State in the summer. They have both seen highs and lows during team scrimmages making it tough to name a true starter.
"We're going to continue to rep both guys, we feel like both guys have been doing a really good job," Saban said, via TideSports.com. "Obviously someone has to start the game and we'll make that decision at some point in time this week. But I think both guys are doing a good job right and we're going to continue to try and develop both of those players at this point."
Is there a chance that Saban could use a quarterback rotation to start the season? Saban referred to the starting quarterbacks as starting pitchers saying, "Whatever pitcher starts the game isn't necessarily going to pitch nine innings." The Crimson Tide have dealt with this issue once before. McCarron was deep in a quarterback competition before being named the full-time starter by Week 3. It could take that long once again as the Tide figure out the best route to take with both players.
"I do think competition is something that helps all players at any position," Saban said. "The one unique thing about the quarterback is you'd definitely like to get the rest of the offensive team sort of in sync with the guy that plays the position. So, to me, there's a big upside to two guys competing, and we feel both are doing well. But then the other side of that is the continuity you're trying to bring to the rest of your team."
A quarterback rotation is not likely to thrill Crimson Tide fans considering most claim to be coming off a "down" year. TJ Yeldon will return as the lead running back with Amari Cooper sits at the top of the depth chart for the wide receivers along with DeAndrew White and Christion Jones.
