Aug 29, 2014 11:14 AM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Blake Sims will be the Alabama Crimson Tide's next starting quarterback, for at least the first quarter and possibly not the entire season.

Unnamed sources told CBS Sports that Sims, the team's fifth-year senior and long-time backup to A.J. McCarron, will take the first snap Saturday at home against West Virginia. Jacob Coker, a transfer from Florida State, is also expected to get playing time in the game and head coach Nick Saban has indicated he will try to make it even.

A passer with a highly touted arm and a prototypical QB build, Coker was Jameis Winston's backup last season. After Winston won the Heisman as a freshman, Coker decided to take his last two years of NCAA eligibility to Alabama.

Even though is transfer cost him the team's spring practices, Coker was expected to command the starting position. However, he apparently did not show enough of a grasp on the offense, leading Saban to leave the starting position open heading into the season.

"We're going to continue to rep both guys," Saban said Monday after practice, according to ESPN. "We feel like both guys have done a good job. Obviously someone has to start the game, so we'll make that decision sometime this week.

"Whatever pitcher starts the game isn't necessarily going to pitch nine innings."

Coker had a tall order coming in to a new system with new receivers, especially having less time to practice with them. Sims, on the other hand, has an intimate knowledge of the playbook and has been teammates with various Crimson Tide players for years.

Coker, a pro-style pocket passer, should be the favorite to finish the season as the team's starter, but Sims, a dual threat option QB, could make a strong case himself. While Saban's offense with McCarron may be more suited for Coker, new offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin will know how to use Sims and highlight his strengths.

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