Alabama Football: Breaking Down the Potential Replacements for Blake Sims

If you’re looking for an experienced hand or a sure thing, Alabama’s 2015 quarterback competition is not for you.

Of the five candidates expected to be on campus during spring practice, none of them has at least a year of experience in the system and a pass attempt in a real, live game.

That means that whoever ends up winning the job will be especially green in some way or another.

Much will be written about the fight to be Blake Sims’ replacement at Alabama, just like it was for AJ McCarron’s this time last year.

For now, let’s just get a brief primer on each player, where he’s been and what he brings to the table, in order of class standing:

Jake Coker, redshirt senior

There wasn’t even supposed to be a quarterback competition this year. Coker, a Florida State transfer who lost out to eventual Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston, was supposed to come in and make for a smooth transition from McCarron.

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Instead, Coker got to campus in May after graduating from FSU and couldn’t get enough of a grasp on the offense to see any meaningful first-team snaps.

In his limited game time, he showed promise but also why he wasn’t ready yet. He appeared confused at times getting signals in from the sideline, while showing off the arm strength and mobility that made him a coveted transfer.

Coker will be the de facto No. 1 heading into spring, but that doesn’t necessarily make him the favorite. Can he take the next step in his development? This is his last chance to do so.

Alec Morris, redshirt junior

Morris seemed to be the “next man up” last year before Sims’ emergence and Coker’s transfer. The former 3-star from Allen, Texas, has drawn comparisons to Greg McElroy, coming from similar situations.

Morris has been the No. 3 quarterback for the last two years but hasn’t registered a pass attempt in his very limited game-time action. He appeared in just one game last year and four this year, mostly as Alabama’s backup punter.

What will make him stand out from the pack, like Coker, is his arm strength. The 6’3”, 230-pound quarterback was described as a “gunslinger” by Nick Perry in spring practice. He also was the quarterback wearing the headset on the sidelines, helping offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin signal in plays to the on-field quarterbacks.

Those physical tools combined with an apparent knowledge of the offense could make him a viable candidate for the starting job. If he doesn’t win it this time around, his window at Alabama may be closing.

Cooper Bateman, redshirt sophomore

If there’s a quarterback currently on the roster with the right mix of youth, experience and physical tools, it’s Bateman.

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It’s unclear how much Saban and Kiffin will take age into account. They may want to try to develop some continuity at the position so they aren’t in this situation again next year. Bateman, a former 4-star from Salt Lake City, could potentially turn into a three-year starter like McCarron was.

Bateman ran some scout team for Alabama this year, including simulating Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott.

“Cooper Bateman is very athletic, very fast, probably runs less than a 4.6 and does a really, really good job,” Saban said of Bateman during MSU prep. “He's been the scout team player of the week several times this year. Certainly has done a really good job this week. You have to have someone that can be that type of guy, or you really can't prepare your defense for what they're going to see.”

Bateman was efficient in pretty much his only public display of passing at 2014’s A-Day, leading the White team to a 17-13 victory. He threw for 156 yards and one touchdown, throwing 17 more passes than his teammate Morris.

David Cornwell, redshirt freshman

A year ago, Cornwell was Alabama’s hot-shot, young-gun quarterback coming in as a true freshman.

That’s not to say he’s fallen off or been a bust or anything like that. It’s just the cycle of how these things go.

Now with a year on campus under his belt, Cornwell will enter the fold likely as a long shot to win the job this time around. As a second-year player, he would go against the precedent of Saban playing older quarterbacks.

Still, the former 4-star quarterback from Norman, Oklahoma, brings a lot of promise and potential with him. He’s been largely limited during his time in Tuscaloosa rehabbing from a knee injury suffered in college and should be ready to show off his stuff in the spring.

Blake Barnett, true freshman

Barnett may be the wild card in this whole ordeal. He and Coker are the only quarterbacks in the mix recruited by Kiffin and seems tailor-made for his offense.

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Barnett is a 5-star quarterback from Santiago, California, who can run and pass. Those legs may put him in the mix sooner rather than later.

He is the highest-rated quarterback Saban has signed at Alabama and the only 5-star. So he comes in with a considerable amount of hype (not unlike Cornwell last year).

If Barnett can pick up the offense and translate the skills that made him such a good high school player into college, he could make things interesting.

Marc Torrence is the Alabama lead writer for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.

Follow on Twitter @marctorrence.