šŸˆ Hurts, Bateman, Barnett and the QB competition

Seems after Kiffin presser today that Bateman and Barnett are the front runners. No big surprise since Cornwell has been hampered with foot injured and Hurt can't have the grasp of the offense in comparison being a true freshman.

Team BB8
 
From links above on Hurts
Lane Kiffin's comments:

"I think if you come in as a midyear (enrollee) and you perform well at all, you’re gonna be pretty good because most of the guys will struggle a lot. Very, very special skillset. A very strong kid, one of our top lifters in strength, forties, vertical. And so he’s just continuing to learn a completely new system from what he was in high school. And that transition for all the players, especially quarterbacks, is difficult. But he’s handled it really well, and we’re really excited about what he’s done and some of the plays that he makes that are really not in-rhythm plays because of his ability to make big plays.ā€

Kiffin said Jalen Hurts has a very special skillset. Said he’s one of the stronger kids. Said the team is really excited about his potential and future.
 
I seem to remember in the Ole Piss game, that every ball he threw beyond 10-15 yards didn't have much zip to it. Also in the spring, most of his long balls seemed to float and wobble a bit.

As you've probably seen pointed out, there's more than one viewpoint of that game. He only had three incompletions, but had three explosive passing plays to go with those. There's no excuse for the INT (though I can't recall whose mistake that one was, the receiver or Coopers.

I do recall that was right at the point people started complaining about the quick dump-offs and motion plays.

I think that after 3 years, and he's still pushing the ball from his ear, he obviously can't fix his throwing mechanics. He doesn't have the arm talent to make up for bad mechanics.

This is just me, SLO, but here's something I won't even begin to guess on ... simply don't know enough about what he's being taught to make a judgment like "he's plateau'd" or something akin.)

I really just don't see him as the answer.

I haven't seen enough to make that call. I have seen enough to know after the first scrimmage we're going to see opposing views from people. I'm looking forward to that in a bit of a demented way.

** Gone unsaid, or unnoticed, is it's evident Blake is getting his health back on track. He certainly had a rough time of it last year.
 
I'll just leave this here:
There are more than a handful saying he looked good today ... more than a handful pointing out good days by all of the QB's.

A friend said some of Cooper's passes looked like me throwing a Nerf football. It made perfect sense to me. Some of my passes are sloppy, but hit target. His comment made me think about your's and wobbly. I'm betting we're calling the same thing two different words. More than one made a compliment on Cooper hitting a nice go route along the sideline ... pass a good 45 yards or so in the air.

I seeing three that can get it done with Cooper still having a strong base of what they want to do with the offense. Scrimmages will tell the story, eh?
 
I'm sold on BB. He is the truth. He has the full skill-set, 1.5 yrsin the system, and everything we're feeling about Hurts, we said about BB last year.

Bateman genuinely seems like a great kid, but fall camp will see his juniors surpass him and BB win out over Hurts from experience.

I agree it's a Bateman and BB battle, but BB will eventually win the day. He'll be the one that wins the team, which makes the difference. We saw his leadership in his efforts as a recruiter for his class, as well as the off field powers of persuasion he has had to lock up a quality piece of *** (disproportionately hot member of the opposite sex).

BB brings home our next championship.
 
Bateman has all the downsides of Coker last August without the upside of a huge arm. And Coker became excellent at the deep ball and was tougher than nails.

Sounds like Barnett and Hurts were the most impressive today. All that said, history tells me Bateman will start, but knowing where to go with the ball doesn't help vs good teams when you can't throw them on time or accurately. The offense can't run only bubble screens and a slew of rub routes to get crossers wide open for a whole season.
 
I have major concerns about the opening game with USC. It's nothing we haven't seen before, but it's crucial. In fact, it's the thing I worry about most, especially since Saban took the reins in Tuscaloosa.

These late opening games present a dilemma. If dinner is served around 6 p.m., by the time Bama kicks off I'm beginning to get hungry. I know, eat more dinner, right? But it's not that easy. I'm excited. I've eaten a late lunch since it's Saturday. And there you have it, a choice to make concerning snacks. We've done ice cream in the past. We've done chips and dip. But the fail safe standby I lean to this season is popcorn. You heard that right, POPCORN. With lots of butter.

To be honest though, I haven't made up my mind as of yet. At any rate, that's what I'm worried about. It's real. It's serious. And, as the saying goes: We shall see.
 
I have major concerns about the opening game with USC. It's nothing we haven't seen before, but it's crucial. In fact, it's the thing I worry about most, especially since Saban took the reins in Tuscaloosa.

These late opening games present a dilemma. If dinner is served around 6 p.m., by the time Bama kicks off I'm beginning to get hungry. I know, eat more dinner, right? But it's not that easy. I'm excited. I've eaten a late lunch since it's Saturday. And there you have it, a choice to make concerning snacks. We've done ice cream in the past. We've done chips and dip. But the fail safe standby I lean to this season is popcorn. You heard that right, POPCORN. With lots of butter.

To be honest though, I haven't made up my mind as of yet. At any rate, that's what I'm worried about. It's real. It's serious. And, as the saying goes: We shall see.

Sleep late and go from there. :D
 
I'm sold on BB. He is the truth. He has the full skill-set, 1.5 yrsin the system,
Part of this isn't exactly true. He's been at Bama for a while but he's missed some valuable time within the system as well.

Two things on Blake that I feel deserve consideration.

One, he almost needs an asterisk by his name due to the health issues he dealt with last year. Just like DC's foot has held him back this fall, Blake has had to deal with something very similar. The good news is he looks very healthy right now. That in itself puts him a little behind the learning curve right now.

Secondly, and most importantly, we've seen Blake have his meltdowns in scrimmages. It's one area of his game where we don't know how he's going to respond leaving me to say there's no true or false at this point—to be determined seems to fit.
 
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