Crimson Red Sports

"It's critical that some player that we have, either in the organization now or that we just recruited can develop into a potential starter for when AJ graduates," Saban said, opening up the door for a heated competition.

Confidence, it seems, is not something Saban has in the position. Neither redshirt freshman Phillip Ely or sophomore Blake Sims have the look of the quarterback of the future. After watching both practice for two years, Saban would know by now if they were capable of taking the reins.

Saban and offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier have seen some of freshman Alec Morris, who redshirted his first season on campus. The strong-armed quarterback from Texas has had a year to learn the playbook, but that will get him only so far with the recruits coming in behind him.

Alabama signed the No. 3-ranked passer in the country in Utah product Cooper Bateman. He was joined by four-star quarterback Parker McLeod in the 25-man signing class that didn't count walk on Luke Del Rio, who turned down scholarships from other FBS schools to come to Alabama. All three prospects enrolled early to get a head start on the process.

IMHO... backup QB is one of our most pressing needs.  Really need somebody who can handle a reasonable degree of passing in case AJ goes down.  Without a decent passing QB, all those great WRs mean zilch.

I agree. We need to be grooming AJ's replacement for 2014. You always need a capable backup in place, just in case.

I agree. We need to be grooming AJ's replacement for 2014. You always need a capable backup in place, just in case.

The backup QBs are not just standing in the background wondering if they will ever get to play. They do the same things that AJ does, the only difference is AJ gets almost all of the game action time. Last Spring, I thought Morris showed that he is capable of stepping in if he had to but no he wouldn't be as effective as AJ. Morris has had a year to mature following AJ's lead and I'm really anxious to see Spring practice start. Morris has a cannon for an arm but I think the mental side of playing QB for CNS is the major factor in who will replace AJ in case of an injury or graduation. The same stands for Ely, he is quicker than Morris footwise but doesn't have the same strong arm. The reserve QBs get more snaps at practice than what everyone might think. CNS isn't going to put all of his eggs in one basket, he spends a lot of time with the reserves.

The backup QBs are not just standing in the background wondering if they will ever get to play. They do the same things that AJ does, the only difference is AJ gets almost all of the game action time. Last Spring, I thought Morris showed that he is capable of stepping in if he had to but no he wouldn't be as effective as AJ. Morris has had a year to mature following AJ's lead and I'm really anxious to see Spring practice start. Morris has a cannon for an arm but I think the mental side of playing QB for CNS is the major factor in who will replace AJ in case of an injury. The same stands for Ely, he is quicker than Morris footwise but doesn't have the same strong arm. The reserve QBs get more snaps at practice than what everyone might think. CNS isn't going to put all of his eggs in one basket, he spends a lot of time with the reserves.