Who knew Alabama football coach Nick Saban could play possum so well?
The last couple of weeks whenever he was asked about the battle for the Crimson Tide's starting quarterback spot, Saban rarely mentioned Jake Coker.
The transfer from Florida State, who backed up Blake Sims a year ago, seemed to fall behind the competition when he hurt a foot midway through preseason camp.
Most of time when Saban spoke of his QBs, he mostly praised Alec Morris.
When he finally revealed on his weekly Thursday radio call-in show that the QB battle had been reduced to two candidates, he offered no hints except "neither one of them have really ever done it in the game so to me, the final sorta proof in the pudding is who can go do it best in the game," he said.
Apparently, that guy is Coker, who looked the most poised of the SEC's six new starting quarterbacks in leading Alabama to a 35-17 victory over Wisconsin in Dallas Saturday. He completed 15 passes (10 for first downs averaging 17.6 yards per game) in 21 attempts for 213 yards and one TD.
Cooper Bateman, Coker's backup, was 7-for-8 for 51 yards to complete Alabama's solid 2015 passing debut of 22-of-29 for 264 yards.
"I made the decision on Thursday, not that it matters, to play both guys in the game," Saban said. "And I told both guys, 'We're not naming a starter; we're naming who is going to start in the game. Both of you guys have done extremely well throughout the course of fall camp. You both deserve an opportunity to play in the game. And that's the way we're going in it.'
"We don't have a plan for three series for one guy, three series for another. We're just going to go on field. And Jake was playing pretty well, so we stayed with it. Cooper got an opportunity. And I thought he did fine as well."
Here's my week one grade of the newbies, not counting Brandon Harris of LSU. He and his teammates were blitzed by a lightning/rain delay with 10:08 left in the first quarter against McNeese State that finally canceled the game at 10:38 p.m. after almost a four-hour delay.
A plus
Jake Coker, Alabama: He showed his maturity from start to finish the Crimson Tide's 18-point victory over Wisconsin.
His final stats didn't reveal his poise after Wisconsin tied the game 7-7 in the second quarter. He responded by guiding Alabama on an 88-yard TD drive, ending the march with four straight completions for four first downs, 71 yards and the go-ahead scoring strike to Robert Foster.
It was the start of 21 straight points as Alabama performed its usual second half sleeper hold on the Badgers.
Said Alabama coach Nick Saban: "When we opened it (the offense) up and created some balance, Jake played very well. I thought he did a nice job. I thought he was accurate with the ball. He didn't make any poor decisions. He didn't put the ball into coverage anywhere. Did a nice job of executing what we wanted him to do. It created balance for us on our offense, and that was really good. He made the right reads based on the call that was made and based on the way Wisconsin was playing. He threw it to the guy that he was supposed to throw it to all the time in the game."
A's
Chad Kelly, Ole Miss: Played just eight series in the Rebels' 76-3 beatdown of UT Martin Saturday in Oxford, competing 9-for-15 for 211 yards, two TDs and one interception.
Kelly looked in total command. He was comfortable in the pocket and was smooth moving away from any pressure. Went through his progressions like champ, unrushed and unfazed.
Said Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze: "Kelly did miss a touchdown throw, and probably could have thrown one a little bit better on the fade to Laquon Treadwell. But outside of that, he had a solid day."
Said Kelly: "We have weapons all over the field. I feel like we have a great team, and we just have to make sure we're all hitting on all cylinders every play."
Greyson Lambert, Georgia: The graduate student transfer from Virginia showed his experience in the Bulldogs' 51-14 victory over UL Monroe game called at 9:54 left in fourth quarter Saturday in Athens because of a lightning strike.
Lambert knew when to check to secondary receivers and sensed when to throw it away. He finished 8-of-12 for 141 yards, 2 TDs and no sacks.
Said Georgia coach Mark Richt: "Greyson did a very nice job of handling everything that was put on him. There were at least two or three balls that he needed to throw away and he made wise decisions. Our guys gave him great protection and he put the ball on the money. He's learned this offense extremely fast. He's making good decisions. He's getting us in the right plays, right protections. Our guys respect him."
Said Lambert: "It was a lot of fun just to get back out on the football field, but it was more fun to get on the field playing with all these guys on my new team. It was a blessing."
C
Jeremy Johnson, Auburn: Looked nervous trying to live up to preseason hype, with too many bad decisions in the Tigers' 31-24 victory over Louisvillle Saturday in Atlanta.
He was 11-of-21 for 190 yards, one TD and three interceptions. At one point two of his three incompletions were interceptions. It seemed like he was predetermining his targets rather than working through his progressions. He threw into coverage far too often.
Said Auburn coach Gus Malzahn: "I think he (Johnson) was trying to force a few things. He's going to be fine."
Said Johnson: "I know I could've performed way better. Just trying to take the big plays instead of just going through my progressions and making the right reads. I tried to be too greedy early in the game. That's just not me."
C minus
Connor Mitch, South Carolina: In the Gamecocks' 17-13 victory over North Carolina Thursday in Charlotte, Mitch was extraordinarily ordinary, 9-of-22 for 122 yards and one TD.
Mitch's underwhelming performance wasn't all his fault. He had three passes dropped and seemed like he didn't have many open receivers.
Said South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier: "We've gotta get somebody open. I don't think we had a lot of good plays. They covered us."
Said Mitch: "I did not get off to the start I wanted to or even the offense as a whole. I think I was just a little too amped to go out there. You cannot get nervous. It is more exciting than anything."