 Coker in 2013 | |
| No. 6 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1992-08-04)August 4, 1992 (age 33) Mobile, Alabama, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Weight | 235 lb (107 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | St. Paul's Episcopal School (Mobile, Alabama) |
| College |
|
| NFL draft | 2016: undrafted |
| Career history | |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Awards and highlights | |
| Stats atPro Football Reference | |
Bryant Jacob "Jake"Coker (born August 4, 1992) is an American formerfootball player. He playedcollege football for theFlorida State Seminoles andAlabama Crimson Tide. He won thenational championship as the startingquarterback of the Alabama Crimson Tide in2015.
Coker attendedSt. Paul's Episcopal School inMobile, Alabama. He played bothfootball andbasketball. He was ranked byRivals.com as the 18th best pro-style quarterback recruit in his class.[1] He committed toFlorida State University in June 2010.[2]
Coker was redshirted as a freshman in 2011. As a backup toEJ Manuel in 2012, he appeared in three games, completing three-of-five passes for 45 yards and onetouchdown. As a redshirt sophomore, Coker competed withJameis Winston for the starting quarterback job in 2013.[3][4] Winston won the job and Coker was his backup until a knee injury in November caused him to miss the rest of the season.[5] He had appeared in six games, going 18 of 36 for 250 yards and oneinterception.
In January 2014, Coker transferred to theUniversity of Alabama.[6] He had suffered some injuries and, as he later said, "things didn't work out at Florida State". Alabama had shown interest but he had already committed and stuck to his commitment, but his dream had always been to play for Alabama under coachNick Saban.[7]
He was eligible to play immediately and did not have to sit out a year after graduating from Florida State in April.[8] In his first year at Alabama he competed for the Crimson Tide's starting job.[9][10][11]Blake Sims won the competition with Coker as the backup. Coker again competed for the starting job in 2015, and this time won the competition.
Coker helped lead the Crimson Tide to win the 2016College Football PlayoffNational Championship Game against theClemson Tigers, with a final score of 45–40. The team's only loss was againstOle Miss, a game Coker later said changed his approach to the game.[7]
On January 30, 2016, Coker was the starting quarterback for the South in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. In one quarter, he was 3-of-8 passing for 23 yards and led his team to the first touchdown of the game.
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | Avg | TD | Int | Rate | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | ||
| Florida State Seminoles | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Redshirt | |||||||||||||||
| 2012 | 4 | 0 | 0−0 | 3 | 5 | 60.0 | 45 | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 201.6 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 6 | 0 | 0−0 | 18 | 36 | 50.0 | 250 | 6.9 | 0 | 1 | 102.8 | 10 | 15 | 1.5 | 1 | |
| Alabama Crimson Tide | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | 6 | 0 | 0−0 | 38 | 59 | 64.4 | 403 | 6.8 | 4 | 0 | 144.2 | 7 | 13 | 1.9 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 15 | 14 | 14−0 | 263 | 393 | 66.9 | 3,110 | 7.9 | 21 | 8 | 147.0 | 74 | 68 | 0.9 | 2 | |
| Career[12] | 31 | 14 | 14−0 | 322 | 493 | 65.3 | 3,808 | 7.7 | 26 | 9 | 143.9 | 91 | 96 | 1.1 | 3 | |
On April 30, 2016, Coker signed a free agent deal with theArizona Cardinals after going undrafted in the2016 NFL draft. He was released by the team on August 29, 2016, as part of a roster cut to 75 players.[13]
On April 21, 2017, after being unable to fully recover from knee surgery, Coker announced his retirement from football. “I’m just going to move on,” Coker said. “I had another surgery when I was with the (Arizona) Cardinals, and that was kind of the last thing. I didn’t want another surgery. I’m just kind of ready to move on. I’m excited about what’s ahead.”[14]
Coker and his wife moved back to Mobile and he got a job in commercial insurance; they had a baby in early 2020.[7]