Every year, programs must replace key players.
The next two weeks I’ll take a look at 13 SEC programs (Chip Towers and Seth Emerson have UGA covered) and a key player who must be replaced this season.
Alabama
Nick Saban faced this question last year after AJ McCarron headed to the NFL. Sims mostly played well in his only year as the Crimson Tide's starting QB, although he had Amari Cooper and an outstanding running game to help him out.
Folks thought FSU transfer Jacob Coker would supplant Sims at some point, but he never did.
And now it appears that redshirt freshman David Cornwell is pressing Coker, maybe even surpassing him for the starting QB job.
Coker has thrown for 698 yards with five touchdowns in 18 career games and Cornwell was an Elite 11 prospect out of Oklahoma who enrolled early in 2014.
Alec Morris played in four games last year, but didn’t throw a pass and highly touted freshman Blake Barnett enrolled early, but no freshman has ever started at QB under Saban at Alabama.
