August 19, 2015
Cecil Hurt
TideSports.com Columnist
All across America, college football fans understand the importance of having a starting quarterback. It suggests continuity and confidence. The quarterback nominee gets vital reps in preparation for the first game. All those things matter.
But I'm not sure that the rest of America understands how pressingly, frantically requisite it is for the University of Alabama, how absolutely critical it is, to name a starting quarterback, at least in this state. Every passing second only increases the urgency.
Look at it this way. Whichever young man is chosen as the next Crimson Tide quarterback instantly becomes the second-most recognized individual in the state, behind only Nick Saban himself.
Data suggests there are only seven Alabamians who have not heard of Saban - a group of snowbirds from New Jersey who live in an isolated refuge like the snail darter, where even casual contact with normal Alabama people would result in some mention of Saban that would eradicate their entire population from the state entirely.
One might argue that pre-verbal infants haven't "heard of" Saban, but since those infants are probably named Nick, Nicole, Nikita or Coach, that seems like a small quibble. Even the growing number of babies named "Kicksix" are likely to hear of Saban before they can walk.
Saban's popularity in the state is unquestioned. Next comes the Alabama quarterback, followed by Gus Malzahn, Governor Robert Bentley, James Spann and, in a late development, "that girl in the Alpha Phi video."
Don't believe in instant celebrity? Ask AJ McCarron, or Blake Sims, or Greg McElroy. They are recognized forever, and not just recognized but taken into families statewide as de facto cousins. People argue about their football performance (constantly) but also their girlfriends, their schoolwork and their job after football. They are toasted at their weddings and mourned at their funerals, passing into legend like Kenny Stabler, who knew the price of fame as well as its benefits.
Jake Coker, for instance, has not been named the starter for the Wisconsin game. Maybe he will be, maybe he won't. But even as a mere candidate, his absence from one day of practice brought out a grassy knoll full of conspiracy theories, the state grinding to a virtual halt until the true cause (injured toe) was revealed.
Despite general relief, Coker had not been kidnapped by extraterrestrials, the debate quickly shifted to what would happen next in the race after this new foot development. Quickly, fans lined up in one camp or another.
Freshman Blake Barnett was a popular choice, due to the instant affection for the new guy, his five-star reputation out of high school and the simplicity of simply choosing quarterbacks named Blake for now on.
That would allow UA to brand the position - Blake 1.0, Blake 2.0 and so on - and give Saban time to recruit another Blake for 2019, stretching things out like Star Wars sequels forever.
Cooper Bateman is a possibility. He's mobile, although he has one of those law firm names ("You're with Bradley Arant? Well, I'm from Cooper Bateman.") that we usually associate with Ole Miss more than Alabama. Alec Morris is from Texas, like McElroy. David Cornwell is from Norman, Okla., which would be an epic troll of Bob Stoops. So there's something positive to say for every one.
We understand the competition is close. That doesn't necessarily mean all the candidates are bad. Hopefully, that will be true next November, too. It just means the choice is difficult. But there needs to be a break in the mystery soon. The sanity of our state, such as it is, demands it.
https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1793645
Cecil Hurt
TideSports.com Columnist
All across America, college football fans understand the importance of having a starting quarterback. It suggests continuity and confidence. The quarterback nominee gets vital reps in preparation for the first game. All those things matter.
But I'm not sure that the rest of America understands how pressingly, frantically requisite it is for the University of Alabama, how absolutely critical it is, to name a starting quarterback, at least in this state. Every passing second only increases the urgency.
Look at it this way. Whichever young man is chosen as the next Crimson Tide quarterback instantly becomes the second-most recognized individual in the state, behind only Nick Saban himself.
Data suggests there are only seven Alabamians who have not heard of Saban - a group of snowbirds from New Jersey who live in an isolated refuge like the snail darter, where even casual contact with normal Alabama people would result in some mention of Saban that would eradicate their entire population from the state entirely.
One might argue that pre-verbal infants haven't "heard of" Saban, but since those infants are probably named Nick, Nicole, Nikita or Coach, that seems like a small quibble. Even the growing number of babies named "Kicksix" are likely to hear of Saban before they can walk.
Saban's popularity in the state is unquestioned. Next comes the Alabama quarterback, followed by Gus Malzahn, Governor Robert Bentley, James Spann and, in a late development, "that girl in the Alpha Phi video."
Don't believe in instant celebrity? Ask AJ McCarron, or Blake Sims, or Greg McElroy. They are recognized forever, and not just recognized but taken into families statewide as de facto cousins. People argue about their football performance (constantly) but also their girlfriends, their schoolwork and their job after football. They are toasted at their weddings and mourned at their funerals, passing into legend like Kenny Stabler, who knew the price of fame as well as its benefits.
Jake Coker, for instance, has not been named the starter for the Wisconsin game. Maybe he will be, maybe he won't. But even as a mere candidate, his absence from one day of practice brought out a grassy knoll full of conspiracy theories, the state grinding to a virtual halt until the true cause (injured toe) was revealed.
Despite general relief, Coker had not been kidnapped by extraterrestrials, the debate quickly shifted to what would happen next in the race after this new foot development. Quickly, fans lined up in one camp or another.
Freshman Blake Barnett was a popular choice, due to the instant affection for the new guy, his five-star reputation out of high school and the simplicity of simply choosing quarterbacks named Blake for now on.
That would allow UA to brand the position - Blake 1.0, Blake 2.0 and so on - and give Saban time to recruit another Blake for 2019, stretching things out like Star Wars sequels forever.
Cooper Bateman is a possibility. He's mobile, although he has one of those law firm names ("You're with Bradley Arant? Well, I'm from Cooper Bateman.") that we usually associate with Ole Miss more than Alabama. Alec Morris is from Texas, like McElroy. David Cornwell is from Norman, Okla., which would be an epic troll of Bob Stoops. So there's something positive to say for every one.
We understand the competition is close. That doesn't necessarily mean all the candidates are bad. Hopefully, that will be true next November, too. It just means the choice is difficult. But there needs to be a break in the mystery soon. The sanity of our state, such as it is, demands it.
https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1793645
