PhillyGirl
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SEC Network analyst Greg McElroy knows a thing or two about playing quarterback at Alabama.
So when McElroy was asked on the Paul Finebaum Show to break down the Alabama quarterback race, he had plenty to say.
āIf I were to go in any direction, given the fact that they lost Ryan Kelly at center, I would lean towards Cooper Bateman,ā McElroy said. āThe reason being is because he has been in the offense the longest. He understands exactly what it is that Lane Kiffinās trying to do. He was relatively effective, Paul, in the Ole Miss game a year ago. If you really look back at it, he was 11-of-14. Yeah, he made a poor decision that resulted in an interception on the right hand side; he should have thrown it left.
āYou know what, in my first start, I probably would have made the exact same mistake,ā McElroy said. āBut 11-of-14 with two inaccurates and one bad decision, I can live with that start. I was 2-of-11 in my first start, so what if they would have pulled the plug on me? Iām surprised they didnāt, at 2-of-11.
āI will say this though: I think that he has an athletic ability that is similar to what Jalen Hurts brings too,ā McElroy said. āJalen Hurts is a really good athlete, can create a little bit. And I think Jalen Hurts and Cooper Bateman kind of fit into that mold that we saw from Blake Sims in 2014.ā
McElroy then began to go into the other candidates in the race.
āDavid Cornwellās a little bit like A.J. McCarron, a little bit like Jake Coker,ā McElroy said. āDecent athlete, but heās going to make his hay from the pocket. Heās going to throw it down the field. He can be accurate. Itās just whether or not he has improved enough since spring to challenge for the job. And I think he had a really good spring and itās neck-and-neck at this point.
āAnd finally, the wild card is Blake Barnett,ā McElroy said. āObviously very highly touted coming out of high school. Very effective when he was running the scout team last year. They say he has an āITā factor. That means an awful lot, but that āITā factor hasnāt been on display on Saturdays against some of the best teams in the country.ā
McElroy said the younger players probably wouldnāt win the job outright in fall camp.
āIf it were to be one of the freshmen, either Hurts or Blake Barnett, I would imagine that decision being made after the first game of the season,ā McElroy said. āIf itās going to be Cooper Bateman or David Cornwell because theyāve been on campus a little bit longer, I would assume they start and itās their team from that point forward.ā
Alabama Quarterback Candidates
(Rankings from the 247Sports Composite)
18 Cooper Bateman, 6-3 224, Junior ā No. 4 pro-style QB, No. 80 overall (2013)
12 David Cornwell, 6-5 234, Sophomore ā No. 4 pro-style QB, No. 79 overall (2014)
8 Blake Barnett, 6-5 200, R-Freshman ā No. 2 pro-style QB, No. 21 overall (2015)
2 Jalen Hurts, 6-2 210, Freshman ā No. 3 dual-threat QB, No. 177 overall (2016)
So when McElroy was asked on the Paul Finebaum Show to break down the Alabama quarterback race, he had plenty to say.
āIf I were to go in any direction, given the fact that they lost Ryan Kelly at center, I would lean towards Cooper Bateman,ā McElroy said. āThe reason being is because he has been in the offense the longest. He understands exactly what it is that Lane Kiffinās trying to do. He was relatively effective, Paul, in the Ole Miss game a year ago. If you really look back at it, he was 11-of-14. Yeah, he made a poor decision that resulted in an interception on the right hand side; he should have thrown it left.
āYou know what, in my first start, I probably would have made the exact same mistake,ā McElroy said. āBut 11-of-14 with two inaccurates and one bad decision, I can live with that start. I was 2-of-11 in my first start, so what if they would have pulled the plug on me? Iām surprised they didnāt, at 2-of-11.
āI will say this though: I think that he has an athletic ability that is similar to what Jalen Hurts brings too,ā McElroy said. āJalen Hurts is a really good athlete, can create a little bit. And I think Jalen Hurts and Cooper Bateman kind of fit into that mold that we saw from Blake Sims in 2014.ā
McElroy then began to go into the other candidates in the race.
āDavid Cornwellās a little bit like A.J. McCarron, a little bit like Jake Coker,ā McElroy said. āDecent athlete, but heās going to make his hay from the pocket. Heās going to throw it down the field. He can be accurate. Itās just whether or not he has improved enough since spring to challenge for the job. And I think he had a really good spring and itās neck-and-neck at this point.
āAnd finally, the wild card is Blake Barnett,ā McElroy said. āObviously very highly touted coming out of high school. Very effective when he was running the scout team last year. They say he has an āITā factor. That means an awful lot, but that āITā factor hasnāt been on display on Saturdays against some of the best teams in the country.ā
McElroy said the younger players probably wouldnāt win the job outright in fall camp.
āIf it were to be one of the freshmen, either Hurts or Blake Barnett, I would imagine that decision being made after the first game of the season,ā McElroy said. āIf itās going to be Cooper Bateman or David Cornwell because theyāve been on campus a little bit longer, I would assume they start and itās their team from that point forward.ā
Alabama Quarterback Candidates
(Rankings from the 247Sports Composite)
18 Cooper Bateman, 6-3 224, Junior ā No. 4 pro-style QB, No. 80 overall (2013)
12 David Cornwell, 6-5 234, Sophomore ā No. 4 pro-style QB, No. 79 overall (2014)
8 Blake Barnett, 6-5 200, R-Freshman ā No. 2 pro-style QB, No. 21 overall (2015)
2 Jalen Hurts, 6-2 210, Freshman ā No. 3 dual-threat QB, No. 177 overall (2016)
