The Alabama quarterback battle this fall was expected to be won by senior Jake Coker, but the most recent report out of fall camp is that redshirt junior Alec Morris has taken the lead in the competition.
According to AL.com, it is Morris, not Coker, who leading the competition after the Tide's second scrimmage of the fall on Saturday. Former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy, now an analyst for the SEC Network, called Morris a "sleeper" in the competition on Paul Finebaum's radio show Monday.
Nick Saban, who noted his disappointment in the lack of progress with the competition after the first scrimmage, actually had some complimentary things to say of Morris.
"Alec has done a nice job all [preseason]," Saban told reporters. "I think he does a really good job of understanding the offense. He helps the other players play better. And I think that he has probably shown command at the position, which I think is important. We've just got to continue to work on touch, accuracy, efficiency. But I've been really pleased with what Alec has done in this camp."
Redshirt sophomore Cooper Batemen is also a factor in the competition, throwing a team-high 27 passes in Saturday's scrimmage, per AL.com. Coker is also still a contender to win the starting job despite missing three days due to a toe injury, though he's yet to receive any ringing endorsements from Coach Saban.
"Jake missed three days in practice this week, so the other guys got a few more reps during the course of the week," Saban said. "But I thought he did a decent job today taking that into consideration."
Barnett has apparently fallen behind in the competition, throwing just 11 passes on Saturday while working with reserves, while redshirt freshman David Cornwell is reportedly out completely, according to AL.com.
Morris may have the upper hand at the moment, but the Crimson Tide's quarterback competition has been as volatile as the stock exchange this offseason.
Saban is hoping one of his quarterbacks steps up and wins the job outright, but has stated that if that doesn't happen he will continue the competition through the opener against Wisconsin. "If it doesn't get decided, like it didn't when AJ (McCarron) and Phillip Sims were here, they both played a quarter, a quarter, a quarter, a quarter in the first game, and that's how we figured it out," said Saban after the Tide's first scrimmage.
Saban and Lane Kiffin have less than two weeks to determine if Morris -- or Bateman or Coker -- can separate himself from the pack and earn that starting role for when the Tide take on Wisconsin on Saturday, Sept. 5. If not, we'll see a quarterly rotation of quarterbacks against the Badgers.
