TUSCALOOSA, Ala. _ University of Alabama coach Nick Saban didn’t announce a starting quarterback during his radio show on Thursday night, but hinted that senior Blake Sims has earned an opportunity this weekend.

“I know everyone wants answers,” he said.

Saban added:”Somebody has to beat somebody out,” before repeating his baseball analogy from earlier in the week that he could always make a pitching change, and asking fans to be patient and give things a chance to play out a little.

Sims is competing with Jacob Coker for the job and both are expected to get playing time when Alabama faces West Virginia in Atlanta on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN2). Regardless of who takes the first offensive snap, he’ll be just the fourth quarterback to start for the Crimson Tide since Brodie Croyle finished the 2005 season.

Saban has placed no deadline on determining the full-time starter, and Alabama doesn’t open Southeastern Conference play until its hosts Florida on Sept. 20.

Although Coker has a better arm, Sims is more familiar and comfortable with the Crimson Tide offense. In addition to being in the system for four years he led the first-team offense through spring practices.

“He’s taken on a leadership role, at least a vocal role, on the offense,” junior center Ryan Kelly said. “Between him and Jacob, they’re huge competitors. That’s all you want out of a quarterback. When you get up to the line of scrimmage and you know you got those two guys behind you, you know they’re going to give you everything they got.”

Although neither quarterback has started a game at the collegiate level, the dual-threat Sims has been in 23 games as a Crimson Tide reserve with 355 rushing yards on 67 carries out of the read-option.

Their passing numbers are comparable: Sims has completed 23 of 38 attempts (59.0 percent), for 244 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception, while Coker was 21 of 41 (51.2) at Florida State for 295 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Sims has a slight edge in passing efficiency rating, 128.5 to 114.8.

While Coker has been on campus since May, Sims has been here since 2010 and coaches tried him at a variety of positions, including wide receiver, before lining up as a reserve running back his first year.

“Actually when he came in he was playing safety with me,” senior Nick Perry said.

“He’s a perfect teammate. He’ll do anything to help the team out, help the team win. He did everything that Coach Saban asked him to do. If he asked him to return punts Blake would have done it. I just feel like it’s paying off now.”

That attitude has also helped make him an extremely popular teammate.

“He’s a really high-energy guy,” said senior tight end Brian Vogler, who has known Sims since their sophomore year in high school and they first played together on a 7-on-7 team in Georgia.

“He’s somebody who wants to be everybody’s friend … There’s not a guy on the team that he doesn’t get along with. He goes out of his way to make sure he knows people. And when you can see that somebody is having a bad day, he’s that guy that’s there to pick them up.”

Actually there is thing that Sims can do that the 6-foot-5 Coker probably can’t – at least without potentially hurting himself.

“I’ve seen him run off a wall and do a backflip before,” Vogler said. “That was pretty impressive.”