The question on every Alabama fan’s mind is who will step up to be the starting quarterback for the Crimson Tide next season, despite the 2013 season still having several games left on the schedule.

Fifth-year senior AJ McCarron will be moving on to an NFL career at the season’s end, leaving a massive hole in the 2014 lineup.

Blake Sims has received all the second-team snaps at quarterback this season, but Saban and the coaching staff seem to like freshman walk-on Luke Del Rio. Alec Morris, Cooper Bateman and Parker McLeod are still on the roster, too.

Alabama also has a commitment from Norman, Okla., prospect David Cornwell, who will enroll in the University in January.

But can any of those players step in and keep the Crimson Tide offense rolling like it has for the past three seasons with McCarron under center?

That question lingers in the back of fans’ minds and is often brought to the forefront on Saturdays or whenever SportsCenter is on. A commotion in Tallahassee, Fla., is making Alabama fans – and maybe even coaches – feel a twinge in their stomachs.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Jameis Winston is taking the college football world by storm for Florida State, leading the Seminoles to an undefeated record in his first year at the helm of the offense.

Winston has thrown for 2,177 yards, 23 touchdowns and only four interceptions in seven games. He is second in the country in completion percentage, yards per pass attempt and passing efficiency.

He has terrorized the ACC this season and dismantled then-undefeated Clemson with 444 passing yards and three touchdowns.

The Hueytown, Ala., native was plucked out of Saban’s state by Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher and has emerged as a serious Heisman Trophy candidate.

But what would have happened if Saban had lured college football’s newest phenom into the fold in Tuscaloosa?

At 6 feet 4 inches, 228 pounds, Winston would have filled in perfectly in McCarron’s wake. He would have better targets than he does in Tallahassee with players like Amari Cooper, Christion Jones, DeAndrew White, Chris Black and O.J. Howard, as well as T.J. Yeldon and Kenyan Drake to take the defense’s attention off him in the running game.

And he would be asked to do a lot less in order for his team to win, if he had committed to Alabama.

Saban and the Crimson Tide are known for many things, and phenomenal recruiting classes are near the top of the list. But, Winston wearing a crimson jersey is only a fantasy, a dream – or nightmare – that haunts Alabama fans as the one player that got away.