Can Alabama QB Jake Coker Win Between the Hedges at Georgia?
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — There were a lot of messages being sent throughout the University of Alabama football team last week.
There was head coach Nick Saban having senior quarterback Jake Coker take all of the first-team reps in practices, which he had never done before. There was a player’s-only meeting during which the talk centered on everyone ignoring what was being said outside of the locker room and what senior center Ryan Kelly called “negative noise.”
There was also what senior running back Derrick Henry said to Coker after the interception in the second quarter of Saturday’s 34-0 victory against Louisiana-Monroe: Don’t press.
“[I told him to] keep his head in the game,” Henry described on Monday. “There was was a lot of game left to play, just got out and make plays and don't let it affect him."
It was good advice, which will likely be repeated before this week’s showdown at No. 8 Georgia, where No. 13 Alabama might be an underdog for the first time since the 2009 SEC Championship Game against Tim Tebow and Florida. It has fans wondering if Coker can win such a big game “Between the Hedges” at Sanford Stadium.
All they have to go on are his first four games, especially his ULM performance that was viewed as sort of a mixed bag. While the defense played lights out, the offense didn’t quite click as some hoped, and Alabama didn’t pound the ball as expected.
That was partly because of the primary running backs being limited. Henry was coming off having a 100-degree temperature from tonsillitis, senior Kenyan Drake got a little beaten up the previous week against Ole Miss, and Bo Scarbrough was serving the final game of his eligibility suspension.
So Alabama focused on working through some things in the passing game during Coker’s debut as the full-time starting quarterback.
“Eventually, I got things going and finished the way I wanted to finish,” he said.
“I thought I got better, but at the same time, I had some mistakes. There were guys in the wrong position, and it was my fault. I have a long way to go.”
There’s no doubt, though, that Coker played better and looked more comfortable as the game progressed. Specifically, after completing 10 of 21 passes for 80 yards in the first half, Coker was 7-of-10 for 78 yards in the second before being pulled.
One of the second-half incompletions was the dropped pass that should have been a touchdown by freshman wide receiver Calvin Ridley, and Coker also didn’t get credit for the 13-yard completion to Stewart when left tackle Cam Robinson was flagged for being illegally downfield (although replay clearly showed that he wasn’t past the three-yard limit).
Alabama did a lot of crossing and slant routes and numerous times essentially ran the same plays over and over again with different personnel or with what Saban likes to call “window dressing.”
“We played it pretty tight to the vest today, and I think we probably need to do a little more,” Saban said after the game. “I thought Jake did a good job, and however you look at the stops, you’ve got to look at the drops. That wasn’t really his fault; he made some good throws. There was probably a couple times that he wishes he would have done it a little different, in terms of going to somebody else, and those are the things we need to work out and get better at.”
After reviewing the game film, Saban said there were six dropped passes. Sophomore ArDarius Stewart, junior Chris Black, sophomore Cam Sims and Ridley all had an obvious one, but part of the game plan was to get more players involved.
“We do take it to heart,” Stewart said about the drops.
| Opponent | C-A-I | Pct. | Yards | Tds | Sacks | Rating |
| Wisconsin | 15-21-0 | 71.4 | 213 | 1 | 2 | 172.34 |
| Middle Tenn. | 15-26-1 | 57.7 | 214 | 1 | 0 | 131.83 |
| Ole Miss | 21-45-2 | 46.7 | 201 | 3 | 1 | 97.30 |
| ULM | 17-31-1 | 54.8 | 158 | 3 | 2 | 123.14 |
| Totals | 68-123-4 | 55.3 | 786 | 8 | 5 | 123.9 |
Still, when Coker talks about improving, he’s mostly referring to things like not going through his progression and locking in on one receiver. A perfect example was the pass intended for O.J. Howard against Ole Miss that was picked off. Coker never took his eyes off the tight end.
On the ULM interception, Henry had just slipped out into open field, and had Coker noticed him, it could have resulted in a big gain. On 3rd-and-3, he tried to force a pass to Ridley for an incompletion. Senior wide receiver Richard Mullaney was open on a crossing route.
Additionally:
- Alabama converted just two of 13 third-down opportunities against the Warhawks. Coker was 3-of-8 on the down, but only one pass resulted in a first down.
- Yards after the catch were almost nonexistent. Senior tight end Michael Nysewander, a former walk-on, had 17 on his 19-yard touchdown, and Black had 12 on his 19-yard slant early in the fourth quarter. Those two plays accounted for 29 of Alabama’s 49 unofficial yards after the catch.
- Coker’s longest completed pass downfield was caught 17 yards from the line of scrimmage on his final touchdown pass, a bootleg to the right during which Coker showed good patience despite a block being missed. Anything longer, and he was 0-of-3 with one interception.
Alabama’s offense, with nine new starters, also had trouble with the blitz, which Georgia has surely noticed, but one thing Coker didn’t attempt in the second half was another deep pass, which can only be taken as a sign of improvement. Despite his arm strength, he has yet to connect on a home run ball, while the receivers haven’t gotten separation or gone up to try to make a play.
“Obviously, we’ve got some young receivers out there playing who have not played much that need to develop more confidence,” Saban said. “I think Calvin Ridley is playing well, and I think ArDarius Stewart can be a really good player for us. We’ve just got to get a little more consistent with what we’re doing, and we’ve got to bring some of the young guys along. Richard has done a good job all year long.”
The key word there is confidence, which only comes through repetition and experience, yet there are two important things to keep in mind regarding the looming showdown in Athens:
- Coker was the one to lead Alabama in its comeback back against Ole Miss, which, like Georgia, has a very good defense.
- If everything goes the way Alabama hopes, he won’t have to try to lead the team to a win. Although Saban wants the offense to be as balanced as possible, the Crimson Tide’s trademarks remain a powerful running back and imposing defense.
The coach never wants to have to put the game in the quarterback’s hands.
“The more games that he starts, the more reps that he gets, the confidence level is only going to go up, and I think people are starting to notice that,” Kelly summarized.
“If I know Jake, I know he’s going to be the most well-prepared that he can. The guy studies his [rear] off, and I just know that’s what he’s going to do. He’s going to give us the best chance to win.”
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Christopher Walsh is a lead SEC college football writer. Follow Christopher on Twitter @WritingWalsh.
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