Alabama leaning toward starting David Cornwell at quarterback?

Published May. 16, 2015 4:45 p.m. ET

foxsports

Heading into the 2014 season, the sentiment was near unanimous that FSU transfer Jacob Coker would be the starting quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide. After all, Coker had battled Jameis Winston for the Seminoles starting quarterback job all summer long.

Winston ultimately won the job, won the Heisman Trophy and led his team to a national title coming off the summer competition. If Coker was able to compete with that, he must be an outstanding option himself.

FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher heaped praise onto Coker after his decision to transfer to Alabama: "he's (Coker) much more talented than anything they've had." Such talk only fueled the fire of Coker's expected brilliance.

Even after Blake Sims won the starting job, most assumed it was temporary. Once Coker was comfortable with the offense, he would surely take the field. Amari Cooper even suggested Coker was ready to start during July's 2014 SEC Media Days. Anytime Sims struggled in a game, Coker would begin warming up on the sidelines.

The Alabama coaches wisely never lost faith in Sims, and he rewarded them by winning another SEC Championship and put up the single most impressive statistical season for any Crimson Tide quarterback.

With the graduation of Sims, everyone was again assumed the job was Coker's to lose. He may have done just, as some have suggested that redshirt freshman David Cornwell may have surpassed Coker.

A four-star recruit coming out of high school, it's possible Cornwell is the next great quarterback in the SEC, but the fall of Coker's stock goes to show that offseason hyperbole isn't always what it's cracked up to be.