Started By
Message
*** OFFICIAL Alabama Spring Quarterback Battle Royal ***
Posted on 3/3/16 at 8:21 am
Posted on 3/3/16 at 8:21 am
Its that time gentleman... choose your allegiances wisely. Aannd we're off... the 2016 season is here. giggedy
Spring position battle preview: Quarterback
Cooper Bateman:
Bateman’s candidacy for the first-team spot lasted until the second half of the Ole Miss game -- when Coker won over the team with his resiliency and running. So having been considered for the starting job until the fourth week of the regular season has to give the Utah native an upper hand in this year’s competition, right?
He does have the most game experience, and his ability to make plays with his legs -- although he did not do that against the Rebels -- can add a new wrinkle to the offense. The only question is can Bateman hold off the younger guys.
Blake Barnett:
The California kid is a fan favorite and has received rave reviews from his coaches and teammates. Barnett led the scout-team offense during weeks the Tide prepared for uptempo opponents and did a superb job of preparing the defense.
He’ll look to carry that over to the spring and translate it to the first-team offense. If he can take command of the huddle and continue to add weight, Barnett’s chances of winning the starting job are as good as any of the quarterbacks on the roster.
David Cornwell:
Here’s the thing about Cornwell: he’s really a contender. But he’s sometimes the forgotten runner in a three-man race because of his disappearing act from last season’s battle. The Oklahoma native will look to reclaim his spot in the pecking order this spring.
And he has all the tools to do just that. At 6-foot-5, 221 pounds, he gives offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin the prototypical size for the position as well as a more-than adequate arm to deliver the ball to Alabama’s myriad of receivers down the field.
With less than two weeks before the start of the spring season, Cornwell should be the No. 2 quarterback in line when the players go through drills on the first day of practice. But with the way the offseason transpired for him in 2015, who knows what will happen.
Jalen Hurts:
Hurts is a longshot to beat out the older trio, but the good news for him is they are the only things separating him from the No. 1 spot. But the bad news is a true freshman has never started a game at quarterback during Saban’s tenure.
But hey, there’s a first time for everything. The Texas native produced video game-like numbers in high school and could be the most athletic player at the position. But he’s also the shortest at 6-foot-2 and has only been on campus since January.
Enrolling early and helping Alabama prepare for Clemson and the CFP national title game will help him down the road, but it won’t likely be enough to give him the keys to UA’s multi-tooled offense in 2016. Expect Hurts to redshirt his year in crimson.
Spring position battle preview for Alabama football: Quarterback
Spring position battle preview: Quarterback
Cooper Bateman:
Bateman’s candidacy for the first-team spot lasted until the second half of the Ole Miss game -- when Coker won over the team with his resiliency and running. So having been considered for the starting job until the fourth week of the regular season has to give the Utah native an upper hand in this year’s competition, right?
He does have the most game experience, and his ability to make plays with his legs -- although he did not do that against the Rebels -- can add a new wrinkle to the offense. The only question is can Bateman hold off the younger guys.
Blake Barnett:
The California kid is a fan favorite and has received rave reviews from his coaches and teammates. Barnett led the scout-team offense during weeks the Tide prepared for uptempo opponents and did a superb job of preparing the defense.
He’ll look to carry that over to the spring and translate it to the first-team offense. If he can take command of the huddle and continue to add weight, Barnett’s chances of winning the starting job are as good as any of the quarterbacks on the roster.
David Cornwell:
Here’s the thing about Cornwell: he’s really a contender. But he’s sometimes the forgotten runner in a three-man race because of his disappearing act from last season’s battle. The Oklahoma native will look to reclaim his spot in the pecking order this spring.
And he has all the tools to do just that. At 6-foot-5, 221 pounds, he gives offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin the prototypical size for the position as well as a more-than adequate arm to deliver the ball to Alabama’s myriad of receivers down the field.
With less than two weeks before the start of the spring season, Cornwell should be the No. 2 quarterback in line when the players go through drills on the first day of practice. But with the way the offseason transpired for him in 2015, who knows what will happen.
Jalen Hurts:
Hurts is a longshot to beat out the older trio, but the good news for him is they are the only things separating him from the No. 1 spot. But the bad news is a true freshman has never started a game at quarterback during Saban’s tenure.
But hey, there’s a first time for everything. The Texas native produced video game-like numbers in high school and could be the most athletic player at the position. But he’s also the shortest at 6-foot-2 and has only been on campus since January.
Enrolling early and helping Alabama prepare for Clemson and the CFP national title game will help him down the road, but it won’t likely be enough to give him the keys to UA’s multi-tooled offense in 2016. Expect Hurts to redshirt his year in crimson.
Spring position battle preview for Alabama football: Quarterback
11
Posted on 3/3/16 at 8:23 am to PowHound
Greg McElory will get us rolling since he has already cast the first vote.
McElroy is Team Barnett
Greg McElroy already has favorite in Alabama’s 2016 QB battle
“If I were to guess, I might lean toward Blake Barnett,” McElroy said on Saturday’s broadcast. “He’s a young kid that has some stuff, and he was exceptional on scout team this year, giving these guys a really nice look.”
Added ESPN’s Joe Tessitore: “He’s extraordinarily athletic. He can give them a completely different dimension than what Jake Coker offered up.”
McElroy acknowledged Tide fans will be seeing a “different-look offense” no matter what, and offered an alternative scenario in which Bateman — who started against Ole Miss this past September — wins the job.
“If he’s the quarterback, he’s more athletic than what we’ve seen from Jake Coker,” McElroy said. “(He’s) a guy that played receiver in the spring last year, showed he can really move and shake. Could look a little bit more like the Blake Sims version of the Alabama offense when you get into the 2016 season.”
Greg McElroy already has favorite in Alabama's 2016 QB battle
McElroy is Team Barnett
Greg McElroy already has favorite in Alabama’s 2016 QB battle
“If I were to guess, I might lean toward Blake Barnett,” McElroy said on Saturday’s broadcast. “He’s a young kid that has some stuff, and he was exceptional on scout team this year, giving these guys a really nice look.”
Added ESPN’s Joe Tessitore: “He’s extraordinarily athletic. He can give them a completely different dimension than what Jake Coker offered up.”
McElroy acknowledged Tide fans will be seeing a “different-look offense” no matter what, and offered an alternative scenario in which Bateman — who started against Ole Miss this past September — wins the job.
“If he’s the quarterback, he’s more athletic than what we’ve seen from Jake Coker,” McElroy said. “(He’s) a guy that played receiver in the spring last year, showed he can really move and shake. Could look a little bit more like the Blake Sims version of the Alabama offense when you get into the 2016 season.”
Greg McElroy already has favorite in Alabama's 2016 QB battle
Posted on 3/3/16 at 8:24 am to PowHound
O.C. Lane Kiffin-
“Obviously, you would like having the guy you know from the year before and having it done early and developing a system around him, but there are positives in having it be competitive,” offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin said.
“I think there’s no way you could say I would like a replacement guy. If I could have had Blake [Sims] again, I would have liked that. I’d like to have Jake [Coker] again because you get him going, and then he’s gone. It’s very unusual to have it happen two years in a row.
LINK
“Obviously, you would like having the guy you know from the year before and having it done early and developing a system around him, but there are positives in having it be competitive,” offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin said.
“I think there’s no way you could say I would like a replacement guy. If I could have had Blake [Sims] again, I would have liked that. I’d like to have Jake [Coker] again because you get him going, and then he’s gone. It’s very unusual to have it happen two years in a row.
LINK
Posted on 3/3/16 at 8:26 am to PowHound
Bateman will go into the spring as the player to beat.
He completed 37 of 52 attempts for 291 yards in 2015, with one touchdown and two interceptions. Doubling as Alabama’s long snapper, he played in all 15 games, and coaches raved about the effort he made in improving the parts of his game that needed the most work last year.
Among Alabama's quarterbacks Blake Barnett has most hype surrounding him.
But most of the buzz surrounds Barnett, and fans are especially eager to see what he can do, especially since he’s believed to have the most upside.
“Blake has showed a lot of progress, and I think everyone’s excited—I’m excited and we’re all excited—at what he has shown already against us," linebacker coach Tosh Lupoi said.
Here’s what Alabama’s defensive coaches from last year (Smart has since moved on to be the head coach at Georgia and took secondary coach Mel Tucker with him to be the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator) said during the playoffs about Barnett:
Smart: “He’s got great mobility, makes good decisions. He’s a competitor, he gives us his best every day. He’s a good leader with that unit out there, he keeps the scout team organized, he along with Cornwell do a good job of kind of pushing those guys and challenging them.”
Defensive line coach Bo Davis: “Blake looks great. He looks real good. Good young quarterback who is going to have a lot of success. He really does a great job and helps us on the scout team. He’s done a heck of a job for us on defense because he can do so many things, moving around, making us be able to rush right, rush lanes and keeping us honest up front. He’s talented enough to do all the things you need, and we’re honored to have him on our team.”
Tucker: “He has a good presence. It’s very competitive. He enjoys playing the game. He’s very consistent. Day-in and day-out you know what you’re going to get from him. He competes well, he throws a really nice ball, and he’s got tremendous athletic ability—he can challenge you as a runner both as a scrambler and with quarterback runs. He gives us every type of look that we need. Whatever we need him to do, he can do it, and the players around him respond. As a coach, I have a high level of respect for Blake.”
Lupoi: “Blake has a pretty solid combination of being able to run away from you when he needs to, as well as throw the ball well. That’s why we recruited him here to Alabama. He was an exceptional player coming out of high school, and he’s shown a lot of the reasons why we recruited him.”
He completed 37 of 52 attempts for 291 yards in 2015, with one touchdown and two interceptions. Doubling as Alabama’s long snapper, he played in all 15 games, and coaches raved about the effort he made in improving the parts of his game that needed the most work last year.
Among Alabama's quarterbacks Blake Barnett has most hype surrounding him.
But most of the buzz surrounds Barnett, and fans are especially eager to see what he can do, especially since he’s believed to have the most upside.
“Blake has showed a lot of progress, and I think everyone’s excited—I’m excited and we’re all excited—at what he has shown already against us," linebacker coach Tosh Lupoi said.
Here’s what Alabama’s defensive coaches from last year (Smart has since moved on to be the head coach at Georgia and took secondary coach Mel Tucker with him to be the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator) said during the playoffs about Barnett:
Smart: “He’s got great mobility, makes good decisions. He’s a competitor, he gives us his best every day. He’s a good leader with that unit out there, he keeps the scout team organized, he along with Cornwell do a good job of kind of pushing those guys and challenging them.”
Defensive line coach Bo Davis: “Blake looks great. He looks real good. Good young quarterback who is going to have a lot of success. He really does a great job and helps us on the scout team. He’s done a heck of a job for us on defense because he can do so many things, moving around, making us be able to rush right, rush lanes and keeping us honest up front. He’s talented enough to do all the things you need, and we’re honored to have him on our team.”
Tucker: “He has a good presence. It’s very competitive. He enjoys playing the game. He’s very consistent. Day-in and day-out you know what you’re going to get from him. He competes well, he throws a really nice ball, and he’s got tremendous athletic ability—he can challenge you as a runner both as a scrambler and with quarterback runs. He gives us every type of look that we need. Whatever we need him to do, he can do it, and the players around him respond. As a coach, I have a high level of respect for Blake.”
Lupoi: “Blake has a pretty solid combination of being able to run away from you when he needs to, as well as throw the ball well. That’s why we recruited him here to Alabama. He was an exceptional player coming out of high school, and he’s shown a lot of the reasons why we recruited him.”
Posted on 3/3/16 at 8:26 am to PowHound
Alabama Football: Pre-Spring Practice Preview for Crimson Tide's 2016 QB Battle | Bleacher Report
One factor to watch with Barnett will be his physical development as he was initially listed as 6’5”, 200 pounds, although he was probably closer to 190. He’s now above the Mendoza Line in terms of pounds, but strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran has a good frame to work with.
McCarron was pretty skinny too when he arrived on the Capstone.
“He needs to add some weight, but he’s a good quarterback,” cornerback Marlon Humphrey said.
“Blake Barnett was different than what I expected. He’s a lot more shifty.”
That element of his game could be an added bonus, especially after obviously working on it with the scout team. That was partly due to necessity as Smart said he got “roughed up” by the Crimson Tide’s defensive linemen despite wearing a no-contact jersey, but you know the old saying about things that make you stronger.
Besides, he’ll probably never face a tougher defense, which had a reputation for practicing hard, under such lopsided circumstances.
“A guy who has mobility adds problems for the defense, much like Blake Sims a year ago,” Kiffin said. “I don’t know what his future is. He has a lot of work to do. We have a ways to go with him. But to date we’ve been very pleased with him.”
One factor to watch with Barnett will be his physical development as he was initially listed as 6’5”, 200 pounds, although he was probably closer to 190. He’s now above the Mendoza Line in terms of pounds, but strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran has a good frame to work with.
McCarron was pretty skinny too when he arrived on the Capstone.
“He needs to add some weight, but he’s a good quarterback,” cornerback Marlon Humphrey said.
“Blake Barnett was different than what I expected. He’s a lot more shifty.”
That element of his game could be an added bonus, especially after obviously working on it with the scout team. That was partly due to necessity as Smart said he got “roughed up” by the Crimson Tide’s defensive linemen despite wearing a no-contact jersey, but you know the old saying about things that make you stronger.
Besides, he’ll probably never face a tougher defense, which had a reputation for practicing hard, under such lopsided circumstances.
“A guy who has mobility adds problems for the defense, much like Blake Sims a year ago,” Kiffin said. “I don’t know what his future is. He has a lot of work to do. We have a ways to go with him. But to date we’ve been very pleased with him.”
Posted on 3/3/16 at 8:26 am to PowHound
Barnett is the truth
Team Barnett
Team Barnett
Posted on 3/3/16 at 8:37 am to PowHound
quote:
Doubling as Alabama’s long snapper, he played in all 15 games
Why does Cole Mazza have a scholarship?
Bateman will line up first, but based on nothing more than the words of the recently departed players, Blake Barnett is the man to beat.
If Jalen Hurts is as dynamic as reported, I could see some special packages for him - maybe even as a back or wideout.
Posted on 3/3/16 at 8:44 am to PowHound
I'll give Bateman another chance, but he looked so tentative out there last year to me. I know that can change with experience, but sometimes you wonder if a guy just doesn't have it.
Kind of feel the same with Cornwell. He was my favorite going into last spring, but he seemed to shrink in the competition instead of rising up. It seems like he has the physical ability, but what amount the mental/emotional/leadership?
I can't imagine Hurts will really be in the running. Seems like a certain redshirt and a season spent getting the 1st team ready for dual threat QBs each week.
That brings us to Barnett. With all the hype, it is hard not to lean toward wanting him to get a shot to start and see what he can do. So if I had to pick, I'd love to see Barnett match the hype and take over. Haven't given up on Bateman and Cornwell at all though. I think either could develop into this year's Coker (just hope it happens a little quicker - like before game 1 instead of half way through the season).
Kind of feel the same with Cornwell. He was my favorite going into last spring, but he seemed to shrink in the competition instead of rising up. It seems like he has the physical ability, but what amount the mental/emotional/leadership?
I can't imagine Hurts will really be in the running. Seems like a certain redshirt and a season spent getting the 1st team ready for dual threat QBs each week.
That brings us to Barnett. With all the hype, it is hard not to lean toward wanting him to get a shot to start and see what he can do. So if I had to pick, I'd love to see Barnett match the hype and take over. Haven't given up on Bateman and Cornwell at all though. I think either could develop into this year's Coker (just hope it happens a little quicker - like before game 1 instead of half way through the season).
Posted on 3/3/16 at 8:54 am to elposter
#teamblake
Posted on 3/3/16 at 8:59 am to elposter
Seeing the 180s both Sims and Coker did, it's hard to count out anyone till they hit the field as a starter.
Sims had a mediocre Spring 2014, but lit it up in the fall practices.
Coker was dreadful in fall 2014 scrimmages(he was like 3 of 11 in one), but led Bama to another NC in 2015.
Kiffin can make anyone good...
Sims had a mediocre Spring 2014, but lit it up in the fall practices.
Coker was dreadful in fall 2014 scrimmages(he was like 3 of 11 in one), but led Bama to another NC in 2015.
Kiffin can make anyone good...
Posted on 3/3/16 at 12:31 pm to JustGetItRight
quote:
quote:
Doubling as Alabama’s long snapper, he played in all 15 gamesquote:
Why does Cole Mazza have a scholarship?
Yeah, I wondered at that as well...I'm assuming the writer meant holder...
As for the QB race, while I think Barnett has the highest ceiling, it wouldn't surprise me if Bateman was the first-game starter next season...
This post was edited on 3/3/16 at 12:34 pm
Posted on 3/3/16 at 4:41 pm to PowHound
I hope it's Barnett because I like his style of play and he could end up being the starter for a while. Tired of 1-and-done QBs.
Posted on 3/3/16 at 4:48 pm to PowHound
I think it's an even matchup between Bateman/Cornwell/Barnett.
All three guys have talent, the person who protects the ball the best will win the starting job. That's what makes me feel like it's Bateman's to lose at this point.
Hurts will redshirt and like it.
All three guys have talent, the person who protects the ball the best will win the starting job. That's what makes me feel like it's Bateman's to lose at this point.
Hurts will redshirt and like it.
Posted on 3/3/16 at 5:34 pm to PowHound
Barnett seems to be logical option talent wise but General Cornwallace beats him in the experience category even with his little playing time. Either way it doesn't matter who y'all have at QB y'all will be fine. Who will your running backs be next year? I didn't know Drake declared or was a senior
This post was edited on 3/3/16 at 5:40 pm
Posted on 3/3/16 at 6:25 pm to Grateful Dead
quote:
Who will your running backs be next year? I didn't know Drake declared or was a senior
Drake was a senior. Our RBs will be 5* Bo Scarbrough and 5* Damien Harris with 4* BJ Emmons (hopefully he qualifies) and 3* Joshua Jacobs (very underrated. the kid's coach never sent out his film and so most coaches didn't know about him until the beginning of January)
Posted on 3/3/16 at 6:34 pm to chattabama
Bo Scar is criminally big 
Posted on 3/3/16 at 7:30 pm to Grateful Dead
#teamwhoeversabantruststhemostandhelpsuswinp.s.whatifthehurricanewasnamedditka?
Posted on 3/3/16 at 7:34 pm to Ol'DirtyCam
You don't even understand how long that took me to read...
Posted on 3/4/16 at 9:19 am to PowHound
My bet is on Barnett.
Posted on 3/4/16 at 10:17 pm to Teague
BB-8
Page 1 of 3
Latest Alabama News
Popular
Back to top
Follow SECRant for SEC Football News