ATLANTA _ After Nick Saban waited as long as he could before making a decision, senior Blake Sims took the first snaps of the 2014 season for the University of Alabama football team on Saturday afternoon.

Sims competed with Jacob Coker, a transfer from Florida State, for the starting job through the summer and training camp. It wasn’t until Saban was doing his weekly radio show on Thursday night that he started to give strong hints about who would initially lead the first-team offense against West Virginia in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game.

Saban told ESPN in a pregame interview that the decision came down to which quarterback knew the system better. Sims has been on the roster since 2010, while Coker arrived in May.

The only surprise in the starting lineup was senior Leon Brown at right guard instead of sophomore Alphonse Taylor. Brown was the starter in the spring, but sustained a foot injury just before the start of training camp.

Sims became just the fourth different quarterback to start for Alabama during the Saban era, which reached 95 games Saturday. John Parker Wilson started all 27 games in 2007-08, and was also the starter in 2006, while Greg McElroy (2009-10) followed with 27 consecutive starts and AJ McCarron (2011-13) just completed a run of 40 straight starts over three years.

The last time an Alabama quarterback started his first game as a senior was John David Phillips, who led a 38-31 victory against BYU in 1998.

Some Alabama landmarks for quarterbacks making their starting debut:
Most passing yards: Brodie Croyle, 285, at Arkansas 2002
Most passing TDs: Joe Namath, 3, vs. Georgia, 1962
Most rushing yards: Steadman Shealy, 79, at Georgia Tech, 1979
Most completions: John David Phillips, 17, BYU, 1998
Most interceptions: Jeff Rutledge, 3, at Ole Miss, 1976
Fewest passing yards: 0, five different players