| 19 May 2010
In a move that surprised absolutely no one, quarterback Star Jackson has left the Alabama football team. He's leaving under good terms, and Nick Saban has said that he and the Bama staff are attempting to help Star find the right place to go. The simple fact is that he is, at best third on the Tide depth chart at quarterback. And one of the guys ahead of him is a redshirt freshman (A.J. McCarron). Star is a smart guy, and he's probably aware that the guy nipping at his heels for the third spot is a true freshman (Phillip Sims).
While there might be a tendancy to shrug off the loss of a reserve quarterback, what this move does is limit the possibility that Bama can redshirt Phillip Sims. There's no guarantee that the staff had plans to redshirt him anyway, nor is there any guarantee that he'll have to play now. If the Tide can avoid major injuries at the quarterback position, then Sims should be able to redshirt. If Bama isn't able to avoid injury, he might have to play.
The other effect that this could have is on the Tide's ability to prepare for its opponents. With McCarron now running with the second team, Jackson would have likely spent some time running the scout team. Between Sims, Morgan Ogilvie, and a bevy of other walk-on quarterbacks, Bama will still have enough guys to prepare. But Jackson's overall talent would have benefited the team more in prep work than a walk-on. And that will be a tangible loss for the team that they will see much moreso than any of us.
Sorry for the long lay off. Work has been a bit of a bear for all of us recently, but we're hoping to be up and going again here very soon.
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