Breaking Down Alabama's QB Battle Leading into Tide's 1st Spring Scrimmage
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — University of Alabama senior tight end O.J. Howard has an interesting take on this year’s quarterback competition: There may not be just one clear winner.
“The quarterbacks, everybody’s looking good,” he said. “I’m just out there trying to run routes, so catching the ball, they gain confidence in me.
“But at the quarterback position, it’s going to be a great opportunity for a lot of guys to get some playing time. We’re going to see during the season.”
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Regardless, the competition will begin in earnest on Saturday when the reigning national champions hold their first scrimmage of spring practices.
It’s the first of three in the spring, including A-Day at Bryant-Denny Stadium on April 16, plus at least two more in the fall before Alabama opens its regular season with another marquee matchup, Southern California at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Sept. 3.
While it’s too early to speculate on who might end up taking the first snap of that game, never mind how much offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin might want to face his last employer, whoever fares best under the live fire will have a leg up on the others.
Just don’t expect Alabama to tip its hand on who that might be in the near future. During previous quarterback competitions, it hasn’t released passing stats from the closed scrimmages, with A-Day the exception.
To oversimplify, the three front-runners can be described as the prodigy, the veteran and the enigma. Here’s how they look heading in.
Blake Barnett
On paper, Blake Barnett is the quarterback Alabama fans have always coveted.
In 2015, he was rated a 5-star prospect and the No. 2 pro-style quarterback in the nation by the 247Sports composite rankings. Barnett was the MVP of the 2014 Elite 11 Quarterback Competition, participated in Nike's The Opening and led his team to victory in the 2015 Under Armour All-America Game.
Needing to gain some weight (he’s still listed as 6’5”, 200 lbs) and experience, Alabama had Barnett redshirt and face its top-notch defense every day with the scout team last year. That gave the Californian not only a chance to acclimate but also a physical taste, as players such as defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson weren’t exactly known for their restraint.
“Blake had some ups and downs last year with some injuries and illness and things that probably held him back a little bit,” head coach Nick Saban said. “So we’re all kind of anxious to see how he matures and how he does this spring as well.”
Cooper Bateman
Cooper Bateman is the only one with game experience with the Crimson Tide, although most of that’s been as the holder on field goals and extra points. As a passer, Bateman’s 37-of-52 (71.2 percent) for 291 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. The Utah product’s passer efficiency rating is 116.8, according to Sports-Reference.com.
Last season, he was 7-of-8 for 51 yards in his first action at quarterback, during the season opener against Wisconsin. Bateman (6’3”, 224 lbs) started against Ole Miss, and on the first drive, he had a 30-yard completion to Howard—which the tight end didn’t top until the playoffs. He was 11-of-14 for 87 yards and an interception.
“Cooper's done a good job,” Saban said. “He obviously has the most knowledge and experience with the offense. He's also the guy that's probably gotten more reps with the ones than anybody else.
“I think there's things that he needs to work on and we need to work on with him so that he can go out there and play with the kind of confidence and be the kind of leader and be the kind of decision-maker that we need at that position to play winning football, and that's what we'll continue to focus on.”
David Cornwell
David Cornwell has been the toughest for Crimson Tide fans to figure out, as he appeared to be the leader to start after last spring, only to end up near the bottom of the depth chart during training camp.
They may want to think of him as a blend of other competitors. Physically, the 6’5”, 234-pounder is probably the most ideal of the three, and even though he has yet to see game action, Cornwell has spent two years in the Crimson Tide’s system.
Cornwell may not have been considered a 5-star prospect as a recruit in Oklahoma, but he was still an Elite 11 quarterback, and 247Sports rated him the fourth-best pro-style quarterback in the nation.
“David's having a good spring so far,” Saban said. “David has a really good arm. His arm talent is probably as good as anybody we have. His accuracy's good. He's smart, a very bright guy. I think he's got enough experience in the offense having been around here to really have a good understanding of it. I think he's made a lot of progress.
“The guy who wins the quarterback job is going to be the guy that wins the team over with his ability to play on a consistent basis, make the kind of choices and decisions, show the kind of leadership to affect other people. I think this is something that everybody in the group needs to work on.”
If that last part sounds familiar, it’s because Saban said nearly the exact same thing a year ago when Jake Coker and Alec Morris were also in the mix. It wasn’t until Coker nearly led Alabama back against Ole Miss that the head coach finally saw what he had been looking for from both the quarterback and the offense.
Coker never lost as a starter, with his best games coming at the end in the playoffs. Alabama had 286 passing yards against Michigan State, with Calvin Ridley leading the way with 138 on eight receptions and two touchdowns, and 335 versus Clemson, when Howard notched 208 yards on five receptions and also had two scores.
That’s what Alabama is looking for again regardless of the quarterback.
| Name | Catches | Yards | TDs |
| Calvin Ridley | 14 | 152 | 2 |
| O.J. Howard | 8 | 267 | 2 |
| ArDarius Stewart | 9 | 100 | 0 |
| Kenyan Drake | 5 | 26 | 0 |
| Richard Mullaney | 4 | 82 | 0 |
“We have so many weapons like Calvin, ArDarius [Stewart], Robert [Foster], all those guys, our receiving corps plus our tight ends,” Howard said. “In the passing game, we can be elite.
“We can do that almost like every other game. Just have guys, not even me having that many yards in one game, every guy could do that. That’s how we could be, and that’s how I think we’re going to be once we get everything going.”
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Christopher Walsh is a lead SEC college football writer. Follow Christopher on Twitter @WritingWalsh.
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