Inside Jake Coker's Incredible Journey to College Football's Promised Land

The path was laid out for Jake Coker to become an Alabama god. Finally, the wait was over.

Having lost the quarterback battle to eventual Heisman winner Jameis Winston at Florida State—a decision that taxed head coach Jimbo Fisher at the time—Coker transferred to the Crimson Tide in 2014 with all intentions of becoming the heir apparent to AJ McCarron.

He was the one who would lead Alabama to and through the playoff—not Blake Sims.

As a graduate transfer, Coker didn’t have to wait to play. It was all systems go as soon as he arrived. With a wealth of physical tools at his disposal, it was assumed he would thrive with ample talent around him.

Only the engines didn’t fire. Coker didn’t commandeer the starting role in the spring as everyone anticipated. Call it system unfamiliarity; call it unrealistic expectations on our part. It didn’t happen. 

Regardless of why, the perfect plan was not executed. At least not last year. After finally getting an opportunity to showcase what he was capable of in a new program, Coker was resigned to the bench yet again. He watched Alabama fall short against Ohio State in last year’s playoff without taking a single snap.

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With a year of eligibility remaining, the man once anointed Alabama’s savior was somewhat of an afterthought heading into the spring. And then something strange happened long before Coker guided Alabama to the Cotton Bowl. 

He was benched. 

After finally earning the starting spot—somewhat by default, really—Alabama turned to Cooper Bateman against Ole Miss in the Crimson Tide's third game of the season. After an early deficit, Nick Saban put Coker back into the game.

He wasn’t perfect, but there was a flash. Behind Coker’s four touchdowns, Alabama nearly came back and erased its lone loss. More importantly, this performance set a foundation for the rest of the season at quarterback. 

“When you think about it, Jake has won every game that he started. So I think that's a critical moment for Jake, the way he responded, the way he played, and really how he won his team over,” Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin said of his performance against Ole Miss. “It was not by finesse. It was by playing extremely hard, taking a linebacker mentality to the position.”

Against Georgia two weeks later, Coker finally found stable footing for the first time in a long time. He only threw for 190 yards in Alabama’s 38-10 win over the Bulldogs, although nothing more was necessary.

“I felt like it was a special team before the season started,” Coker said. “But I guess the Georgia game kind of stands out to me. It was kind of when everybody kind of came together and we realized our backs were against the wall and we had to perform no matter what." 

He is not Deshaun Watson. He is not Baker Mayfield. He is not Connor Cook. In fact, despite his physical gifts, Coker is the outlier heading into the College Football Playoff—the ultimate wild card. 

At 6’5”, 232 pounds, Coker has an NFL build. He is the prototype. He has an NFL arm. He has NFL legs—at least by modest quarterback standards. Trot all four playoff quarterbacks out there without pads for a throwing session in front of scouts, and Coker might attract the most eyeballs.

But it hasn’t fully come together yet—in part because he has never, at any level, been demanded to put it all together.

In high school, Coker ran the Wing-T offense up until his senior season, meaning that throwing the football was a rarity up until time he arrived on a college campus.

While he was still recruited for his size and ability, expectations for the 3-star signal-caller were minimal when he arrived at Florida State. But he grew into his body and his position—to the point where it looked as though he might finally be the starter.

Once Winston won the job, he never relinquished it. If Coker wanted to play, he would have to go somewhere else. 

At Alabama, he had to wait again. Even this season looked lost early on. But it came together eventually, even if it took far longer than most anticipated.

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“Couldn't ask for a better family than what I got. I always had a lot of support from them and throughout this whole process until I got here,” Coker said. “I don't know if I'd be here without them and all the support they’ve given me. So they mean the world to me, and I love them to death. So them being there and being able to share that moment was big.” 

His statistics could be quantified as average. Coker scored 19 touchdowns this season and threw eight interceptions. He never cracked the 300-yard mark and threw for 250 yards only once.

He hands the ball off to the nation's most unstoppable force, Derrick Henry, and that mentality won't suddenly change in the playoff. And unlike the other quarterbacks still standing, Coker’s most memorable plays really aren’t gorgeous spirals.

They are the moments in the open field where his Wing-T history has been put to good use. 

“We talk about running out of bounds and sliding as quarterbacks, and that's what we want you to do,” Kiffin said. “And he didn't listen to that. That's his mentality.”

That has always been his mentality. It carried him through. Not just this season, but from high school to Florida State, to Alabama’s bench, now to Arlington, Texas, where he will lead Alabama in a playoff game on New Year’s Eve.

After searching for his opportunity, Coker has found it. He has made it—no matter what story the numbers tell. And regardless of what is demanded of him against Michigan State, the journey that almost never happened has been fulfilled.

Unless noted otherwise, all quotes obtained firsthand.

Player ratings are courtesy of 247Sports' composite ratings.