Alabama QB John Parker Wilson

[bigboydan]

QB Brodie Croyle was essential to the Alabama Crimson Tide revival last season, so it'll be interesting to see how John Parker Wilson replaces the departed passer. Interestingly enough, Street & Smiths seems to project Wilson as a better prospect than Croyle: "Wilson... is comparable to Croyle in arm strength. And he has escape velocity out of the pocket that Croyle didn't possess... 'He just needs to go play,' Shula says of Wilson. 'He's going to make some mistakes because of his experience, but he will make plays.'"

So will the big plays outweigh the mistakes for John Parker Wilson in 2006?

[Razz]

Huh? Wilson was the 10th best player on his high school team (A team that would probably be favored over UAB or Troy, but still). Croyle was the #1 QB prospect in the nation.

[onlooker]

Blue Ribbon Yearbook.

With the departure of Brodie Croyle to the NFL, Alabama loses a player with experience, a strong arm and the ability and vision to make big plays. However, with the emergence of sophomore John Parker Wilson (6-2, 217), the offense gains a player with a strong arm and the ability to make plays with his legs. His primary shortcoming can only be solved with time.

"He's got the ability," Shula said. "He's just got to go out there and play now."

Wilson walked, talked, practiced and scrimmaged like a starting quarterback in the spring, even completing 21-of-31 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns in the annual A-Day game. Unfortunately, he also continued an alarming trend by throwing two interceptions, giving him 10 interceptions in 10 spring scrimmages.

Taking better care of the football and avoiding turnovers needs to be a primary point of emphasis for Wilson, but the coaches were still pleased with his progress over the course of the spring and hope to take advantage of Wilson's mobility and arm strength with play-action passes and moving pockets.

"We haven't held anything back. He's handled it all," Rader said. "Our defense has shown him a lot of blitzes, he's handled all those looks and done a good job with that.

"He should have a lot more confidence. I have a lot more confidence in him. He should feel like he can be the quarterback for this team."