re: Your gut feeling...who will start at QB?

Every year we get up in arms about how limited our starting QB is going to be, and every year that player ends up blowing us away.

There's no reason to be as pessimistic as some are in here. Whoever our QB is, that player is going to be amazing.

Which should scare the shite out of you. So far we've seen a guy that either can't or won't throw the deep ball and he looks scared to death. He lost his only start last year. Yeah, he looks good short to intermediate but that alone won't cut it. His apparent lack of confidence scares me.

quote:

---

Looks like Barnett will be getting married.

---

The happy couple is registered here

You guys act like players don't improve. Sims looked like garbage his whole career until his senior year. Coker the same until almost halfway through his senior year. Bateman was a sophomore last year getting his first playing time, of course he's going to get better. Agree he needs to get his confidence up, work on deep ball and run when there's room, but I'm betting Kiffin can get him there. If not, he'll get one of the other guys there.

quote:

---

Confidence issues rarely ever improve to the point of the issues completely going away.

---

I don't think anyone expects them to completely go away. But with experience, comes confidence. If you didn't see the confidence Coker had in himself grow every week last year, you weren't paying attention. Same with McCarron in 2011, McElroy in 09, Sims in 14. You simply can't replicate game situations in practice, and until a QB has a few games under his belt, most are going to show timidness and uncertainty. And most will still be timid in certain situations even after some experience. Hell, Coker looked lost in the 1st half of the Clemson game last year. But he had enough confidence to not screw it up to a point we were out of the game.

Barnett.

I'm not buying into the naysayers. I think Saban is giving him the "let's see how you handle adversity summer treatment", like he did AJ.

Batemans problems started his senior year in high school when his team sucked and he got hurt in game 4 and he was done for the year. He had a pretty good junior year but nothing to knock your socks off. And all this in Utah...not exactly a hotbed for high school football talent. He is facing the best talent he's ever seen in his life week in and week out and I don't think the game has completely slowed down for him yet. So yeah, he's scared to death. Maybe he does grow into the job, Kiffin has been a zen master at that. But going into the season facing the most talented team we've faced in an opener since Saban arrived and an Ole Miss team that has a two game win streak on us all in the first month makes me worry. I think the Brandon Avalos comment may be a little more accurate than you think. Not that I think Cooper will be a total bust, but he may resemble Avalos a little more than we would like until he gets settled. Face it, you could plug Avalos in on this team and we'd win 8-9 games no sweat. I just don't think Bateman is the best long term option at QB. He may be the safest right now, but I don't see very much upside either. I'd rather trust my defense and my run game and JK Scott to keep me out of trouble while Barnett or Hurts learns the job. The thing about a shaky QB is no matter how far he has progressed, if he has a bad game going, the fear comes back in a hurry and things go south real fast. Then you've got big problems until and unless the kid can play his way through it. He can do that against UK or Kent State. USC, Ole Miss, LSU...not so much. That's why Cooper scares me. Blake Sims and Coker had their faults, but lack of swagger wasn't one of them. They had confidence in their abilities even when they weren't playing well. They walked and talked like a QB. Cooper looks scared, is scared. If he goes out there and throws a pick six his first series against SC, how does he respond? We won't know how he will handle adversity until he faces it this fall. I'm pretty sure he is the starter going into the season, I'm just not sure how that's going to work out.

Barnett has a ton of work to do. The three people whom I know personally that watched him and me once at the scrimmage all saw the same thing " hot slaw". He floats passes, passes into coverage all the time, struggles on cross field throws. Sure he can throw it 70 yards with no equipment and no rushing lineman. So can Cornwell, and Hurts, and almost Bateman.

On to Bateman, he really is like one step away from being good but I don't know if he can fix his long ball. It is quite honestly one of the worst I've seen. He also lacks confidence, he won't run much, he hesitates etc. Maybe he can be fixed not sure.

Cornwell, well he is a pro style guy and has a nice arm. Problem is he is slow, like really slow but not just with his feet either. I've seen him make some real head scratches. If we had a solid OLINE for sure no questions he would be a total go.

Hurts, probably the best fresh talent we have had in a long time. Not just the Barnett I won the elite 11 which means nothing stuff. He is very athletic, looks down field, makes solid throws and can scramble like a mad man. If he already had a bama year it would be no question at all. But as we are in this situation it's hard to say.

All n all the staff will go to the power point percentage meeting. This is where they show who gives them the best chance to win. Lane will do his best to develop whomever they think is the guy.

quote:

---

perhaps double congrats in order?

---

Gotta admit, that was my first thought too.

I want Barnett to win the job just so we can hear Musberger go all dirty-old-man on his GF/fiancée on the SEC Network.