Alabama Football: Backup QB Battle Wide Open Following Phillip Sims' Departure

The departure of Phillip Sims has created a massive opportunity for either Phillip Ely, Alec Morris or Blake Sims.

When the backup quarterback announced his plans to transfer to UVA, it left Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban without any experienced players to back up AJ McCarron—but he's not worried. He has plenty of options, and not just the obvious ones.

On Wednesday, Saban told ESPN.com's Alex Scarborough: 

"

Phillip Sims did a wonderful job for us. He’s a fine young man. He did a great job in our program. We hate to see him go, but at the same time I understand there’s a lot of personal things, illnesses in his family...We’re going to be very supportive of him in his future and hope he does extremely well.

"

There's obviously no quarterback on the depth chart with any significant experience playing at the college level, never mind any experience to play for a defending national champion.

But if no one is all that experienced, why not give Blake Sims a shot?

That seems to be what Saban is thinking. The freshman running back was a dual-threat quarterback in high school and could transition back to the backup role just as well as anyone. Sims least has some experience playing on the big stage of the SEC, which is more than could be said for Saban's other two options.

Saban told Scarborough that last year, his plan was to have Blake Sims play quarterback, but with a hole to fill at running back, he was a better fit at that position at the time. 

As a senior at Gainesville High School in Georgia, Sims threw for 28 touchdowns and 2,288 yards while carrying 115 times for 863 yards. Throughout his high school career, he totaled 3,736 yards and 49 TDs.

Ely, a redshirt freshman, seems to be the leading contender to take ever Phillip Sims' role after sitting out last season. The Tampa Bay native is somewhat used to a high-pressure environment after playing at Plant High, but Morris played for an equally high-profile program at Allen High in Texas.

There may be two traditional quarterbacks on the roster, but what Saban is looking for isn't necessarily the best player right now; he's looking for someone with the potential to grow into a great player. If Blake Sims offers the best chance of becoming great—and of giving the Crimson Tide a chance to win if McCarron goes down—he should get the job.

Ryan Tannehill didn't start out as a quarterback, either.