Alabama Football: Why A.J. McCarron Will Be the No. 1 Quarterback at Bama

Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer) — Like many fans, I expected there to be a battle royal for the starting quarterback spot at the University of Alabama once Greg McElroy packed his bags and left campus.

That was until I interviewed both Greg McElroy and A.J. McCarron late last season.

Then I knew the battle had long been over, even before it began, and A.J. would be leading the Tide come fall.

"One thing Coach Saban has taught me, is that one man can't win a game, but one man could lose one," McElroy told me with a big grin.

You don't have to be a genius to read what Saban is trying to get his quarterback to understand. Let the team do their job, you just do your job in the team. Let the blockers block, the running backs run, the receivers make the catches. Don't try and do it all yourself.

Don't play beyond your limits, play within them. Just don't be the man who costs your team the chance to win.

When Saban gives the keys to the Crimson car to the quarterback, he doesn't want to see how fast and quick he can drive it, he wants him to simply deliver the occupants where they're supposed to go, to steer them safely to the destination and not wreck the car.

If this makes Saban's quarterbacks "system guys," then that's OK with Saban and with the quarterbacks themselves. If it's not all right with the quarterbacks, they won't see the field.

His quarterbacks benefit from this lesson, because that's how most teams in the pros want it done also.

Saban demands one other thing from his quarterback: He has be the leader, the guy who every man in the huddle looks to when the chips are down, and who calmly makes everyone in the huddle know that everything is going to be all right. He has to be the one who makes people believe in not just him, but in themselves and the team.

The best example was McElroy's demeanor on "The Drive" in the Auburn game the year Alabama went on to win the national championship.

McElroy said that everyone on the sideline knew that Alabama had to do two things being down 21-20 with just over eight minutes to go: score and run off the clock.

He said everyone on the sidelines was all hyped up, and he pulled them together and tried to calm them down. He told them, "This is it. Just calm down. Let's be methodical. Let's just execute. Now let's go do it."

And he started completing short, safe passes—nothing risky, nothing fancy, just calmly being methodical and executing just as he had told his teammates to do. There was never any panic, there was never any urgency, and according to the players, there was never any doubt.

Mark Ingram told me remembers the look of everyone in the huddle, with each completion and running play gain the team just got calmer and quieter, and he said there was no man on earth who anybody would have wanted to direct the offense than Greg at that moment. He was calm, in charge, and made everyone confident in the final outcome.

Ingram said that Roy Upchurch had been lobbying on the sideline for the play that was thrown to him that won the game, and that he was so happy to see Roy get that opportunity. Though he wasn't a starter or even second-string, when the play was called, nobody doubted Roy or Greg; this was a team being led by the leader who every guy in the huddle trusted.

After the Capital One Bowl Game, I had two opportunities to talk to A.J., some of those interview questions you can see here.

I first approached him on the field just after the game and in his typical Southern gentleman manner he addressed me as "sir." Maybe it's just the gray in my beard.

I approached him and wanted to know if he was ready for the battle in the spring with Sims, but the question came out more like, "Are you going to have your hands full this spring?"—and in my mind I was referring to the upcoming battle with Sims.

But that's not how A.J. took it. He was only thinking about what his duties were as the new leader of team. In his mind, there was no battle to be held. The job was his, and he was only thinking of what he had to do to make the team better.

His answer was, "Yeah, I gotta get everybody ready for next season, but we're ready. You know, we got a lot of young guys that have to step up, but we've got a lot of returners and it should be our best year. We just have to get back to working hard like we did that summer when we won it all. When we get back to those things and some more things, we'll be fine."

Then we started talking about Greg and I could see him really get misty-eyed. Greg was much more than a teammate and friend, he was a true mentor. After a couple of comments, I stopped the camera and asked, "What's the most important thing Greg taught you?"

And his reply was short as if he had been thinking about this before.

"You lead by example," he said. "You give your best and everyone around you will give you their best. You trust in your team and they'll trust in you. Greg is the best, and I owe him big time, he's taught me so much."

And I let him go celebrate with his team. Later after a shower and the Saban press conference, I met up with A.J. again.

After he answered another reporter's question about his relationship with Greg, things started coming out that cemented my notion that there was not going to be a battle, except for the one that was manufactured by the coaches and media.

A.J. started talking about how he had no intention to wait until spring. He said he had told the receivers that they were going to hit the ground running as soon as they got back, throwing routes and working on timing.

Then he said that he had already gotten the receivers to all stay on campus this summer and work with him on timing and routes. Later, I asked two receivers and each said that yes, they were staying on campus and that A.J. had already told them that they had a lot of work ahead of them.

Earlier after the game, Darius Hanks had told me when I asked him if he was ready to step and be the man this year with Julio leaving, he said, "Yes, I ready, I can't wait."

And then with the camera off I asked him about what to expect this spring, and he said that A.J. had already gotten him and the other receivers to commit to work hard all spring and summer and that he (Hanks) was looking forward to helping develop some of the younger receivers.

He said that he thought A.J. and this group of receivers could put up better numbers than this year and that he was very excited about what was coming next season.

There was no word spoken by any receiver about Sims; everyone was talking about A.J. and the faith they had in him taking over and the prospects of a great year next year.

Even William Vlachos, Alabama's senior center this year, told me that he was looking forward to working with A.J. and helping him through his first year as a starter, and that even though he (Vlachos) and Greg were great friends and he would miss him, he had faith that A.J. could repeat what Greg had done his first year.

Again, no word about Sims.

Getting back to the interview with A.J., though, mine and two reporters' jaws near me hit the ground when A.J. announced that that he had been spending almost every Sunday afternoon with Saban, just the two of them, spending time with one another.

He said the two have a very special relationship, and they spend Sunday afternoons watching film, studying or just cutting up.

Saban cuts up?

Another reporter with me asked A.J., is it just you or are any other quarterbacks in there with you? And A.J. let us know, that no, it was just him and Coach Saban.

I had to cut the camera and motion A.J. away for a moment and told him that maybe he shouldn't go into his and Saban's private time together, that others may think if you start, that's why you're starting.

He told me that had nothing to do with him being the starter next year, but he and Saban have a very special relationship that most could never understand, that he can talk to him about anything and not just football. He said it's almost like a father-son relationship.

Saban wants a quarterback he can trust, one that knows how to play within himself and his talent, one that the players look up to and just naturally want to follow and one that won't wreck the car.

Had you heard the other receivers looking forward to next year with A.J., the confidence in A.J.'s voice when he talked about next year and learned of his relationship with Saban that few know about, until now, who do you think Saban is going to trust the keys to the car with?

For Sims to have overtaken A.J. for the starting job, McCarron would have had to throw four dumb picks, fumbled twice and yelled at the linemen and receivers for their shortcomings on any incompletion while Sims threw for 300 yards and four touchdowns.

That didn't happen, and a statistical draw with McCarron in just one practice won't win him the job.

Last year, McCarron beat McElroy on A-Day, but how many games did A.J. start ahead of him?

And it won't happen this year either. A.J. McCarron will lead the team on the field this fall, and he and the players behind him think it could be another great year.

To think differently after knowing all these facts makes you a dreamer.