Prior to taking the gridiron for fall camp with his players, Alabama coach Nick Saban spent Tuesday catering to the personalities and show hosts of ESPN during its annual car wash at Bristol, Conn.
He will not be able to avoid the quarterback question from now until the season starts; however, Saban did provide ESPN’s Chris Lowe (college football) with some insight on the younger two players vying for the starting job. According to a tweet from Lowe, Saban said that both Blake Barnett and Jalen Hurts have what it takes to win the job, but “they have to win the team.”
Barnett and Hurts are competing against Cooper Bateman (redshirt junior) and David Cornwell (redshirt sophomore) to run the offense. Barnett, a redshirt freshman, has added some weight and enters his second season under Lane Kiffin. He ran the scout team offense in 2015, while his five-star rating is the highest of any signal-caller signed by Saban. The Corona, California native tends to have a gunslinger’s mentality, but if he can protect the ball, Barnett will be hard to overlook.
All Crimson Tide fans were enamored with what they saw from Hurts on A-Day.
The Channelview, Texas native had the best performance with 11 of 15 completions for 120 yards and a touchdown. He enrolled in January as a high four-star recruit and has all the potential of living up to that billing. Hurts came in focused and commanded a lot of respect in spring practice, nevertheless, his playing time will hinge on how much of a push he creates in fall camp.
Stephen M. Smith is a senior analyst and columnist for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @Smsmith_TDALMag.
