News Article: Why Alabama is Encouraged About Future of QB Blake Barnett

cuda.1973 said:

For a minute there, I though you were going to say he looks like Brodie Croyle.

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Brodie was shorter and looked ready from day 1, but due to poor s&c, never changed. I hope that there is not a problem with Barnett getting bulkier, pictured can be deceiving. Just hoping he would fill out some. A-Day game will tell a lot. I just do not want to put all the eggs in a QB that is not ready for SEC, and we have two others that probably are.

He did improve 50 on his bench, but ran a 4.8 and looks like a pencil. Maybe I am reading to much into a picture. Earle warned me, I hope he is not right.

TiderJ said:

I would think if he wants to play 15 games his weight matters (see Brodie Croyle).

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Difference is Brodie didn't know the way to the Weight Room. Brodie was a gifted athlete who wasn't motivated to work out.

Watching some of his high school film, if this kid develops and gets his skills polished under CLK like I think he can, woo boy, he gonna shine...

This is a Blake's thread, but Cooper looks like he's full grown and ready to steer the ship. Whomever wins out the job will be a goodie for sure.

I think we could be worried over nothing about BB's weight. He's a tall, lanky guy, especially compared to JH's who looks built more like a Blake Sims. Sure, Bateman and Cornwell are a little thicker, but we're only talking about 20 lbs difference in all four of them.

Thanks for the pics RTR91.

I don't see the weight as an issue for Blake or any of the QBs. Any player on the field can be seriously injured from a pedestrian hit. It's not like if he gained 20 lbs of muscle that he wouldn't ever get injured..

Barnett is half a head taller than Bateman and looks just as put together, tell me again how Bateman is more impressive? Cornwell looks the part, maybe he puts it together with his attitude.


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So Barnett cannot be the starting QB because in the SEC a QB has to be fat to start? Well don't you think the proper thing would be for one of you "fat-to-play" people inform Barnett of this so he can transfer to a conference that dose not require a person to be fat to play QB?

bodiddle said:

So Barnett cannot be the starting QB because in the SEC a QB has to be fat to start? Well don't you think the proper thing would be for one of you "fat-to-play" people inform Barnett of this so he can transfer to a conference that dose not require a person to be fat to play QB?

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Jake Coker was 232 pounds. You calling him fat?
No one is saying he can't play at his weight. But a little more weight may increase his odds against injury and preserving longevity. That's all anyone is saying.

Intl.Aperture said:

Jake Coker was 232 pounds. You calling him fat?
No one is saying he can't play at his weight. But a little more weight may increase his odds against injury and preserving longevity. That's all anyone is saying.

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Or maybe that ten pounds causes him to be caught from behind and injured before he gets out of bounds or slides down. Mobile, or big enough to handle the punishment. I think BB will have to settle for mobile.


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I was just "hoping" to see a thicker BB, but this is a great reason for us all to go to A-Day. I nearly wish we had some more contact, but Spring is really not the time to knock heads, but learn, condition and coaches eval and experiment.

There is no doubt that Barnett is the highest rated quarterback on our roster since Brodie Croyle. A consensus top 3, and top one in a lot of minds. Hope he is durable.......if he is....watch out!!!!

In a perfect world Cooper would be a senior and get his year.

AlexanderFan said:

Or maybe that ten pounds causes him to be caught from behind and injured before he gets out of bounds or slides down. Mobile, or big enough to handle the punishment. I think BB will have to settle for mobile.


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I'm not saying one way or the other. I think he's put on enough to play. Don't think he needs to be Jake's size to play effectively. I think he can be mobile AND big enough to take punishment. Others have said on this board, and I agree, that Coker was really as mobile as you need a QB to be. Any more and it's just icing on the cake. I'd rather make sure he's solid in the pocket and can take a blind side hit instead of worrying about how well he can break off 15 yard scrambles. That's just my perception though.

Sabanizer said:

I was just "hoping" to see a thicker BB, but this is a great reason for us all to go to A-Day. I nearly wish we had some more contact, but Spring is really not the time to knock heads, but learn, condition and coaches eval and experiment.

There is no doubt that Barnett is the highest rated quarterback on our roster since Brodie Croyle. A consensus top 3, and top one in a lot of minds. Hope he is durable.......if he is....watch out!!!!

In a perfect world Cooper would be a senior and get his year.

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CB has been loyal. I'm just one opinion, but I'm ready for a guy to lead our team for multiple years like AJ was able to do. Can't argue with the success we had with BS or JC, but I think we won in spite of them being first year guys rather than because of it. QB experience and stability, especially into the 2 or 3 year is typically better than the annual swinging gate.

Intl.Aperture said:

I'm not saying one way or the other. I think he's put on enough to play. Don't think he needs to be Jake's size to play effectively. I think he can be mobile AND big enough to take punishment. Others have said on this board, and I agree, that Coker was really as mobile as you need a QB to be. Any more and it's just icing on the cake. I'd rather make sure he's solid in the pocket and can take a blind side hit instead of worrying about how well he can break off 15 yard scrambles. That's just my perception though.

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This is true if he was be employed just like Coker, but I think BB will be utilized in a different way. Lot's more roll outs and maybe more zone reads.

I think this conversation is way overblown. Yes, I think we'd all like to see him have a bit more weight but it's not like it's a good idea for him to just develop a gut, that's not going to help him one bit. It's not the biggest factor by any means in whether or not he can start. I was one of the people saying that no way he should start as a true freshman by the way, but he's had time to develop mentally and physically and he should be more prepared.

The truth is Coker was the only stout quarterback Nick Saban has had start at Alabama. And yes, it's nice if a guy can have a Cam Newton/Tim Tebow type build, you feel like they can take some hits. I don't think that's really necessary, people saw pictures of AJ's chest tattoo right? Guy wasn't buff, guy wasn't stout, but he won championships right? He stayed pretty healthy to. Out of the current quarterbacks, the only one that I think would fit this idea of having a thicker guy that can take licks is may be David Cornwell. I'm not sure if he's put on any weight since he got on campus but he seems to arrive with the build people have in mind.

Here's the thing. Brodie had an injury history before he got to Alabama. Just being skinny doesn't make him tear his ACL in high school! Sure, you can argue he'd have taken other hits better but keep in mind he was injury prone, period. What about Coker though? He suffered a season ending injury in college. Cornwell suffered a season ending injury in high school. Does Barnett has a history of injuries? If not I think this is more an imagined problem than an actual one. AJ was a skinny guy that didn't have a history of injuries and he had a great career at Alabama.

The real question, the real issue if can Barnett read the defenses and can he make the throws. If he's the man he should play, and if that's the case and everyone else does their job he can win a championship, at his current weight.

Agree Krazy...play the best.

bodiddle said:

So Barnett cannot be the starting QB because in the SEC a QB has to be fat to start? Well don't you think the proper thing would be for one of you "fat-to-play" people inform Barnett of this so he can transfer to a conference that dose not require a person to be fat to play QB?

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Seriously?

CrimsonForce said:

I don't see the weight as an issue for Blake or any of the QBs. Any player on the field can be seriously injured from a pedestrian hit. It's not like if he gained 20 lbs of muscle that he wouldn't ever get injured..

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Not talking about one pedestrian hit but cumulative hits over the stretch of a season. Looking at the RTR91 pics posted it looks like he has added some weight and that is a good sign.

For people questioning his speed and 40 yard dash time, remember this blurb from the OP of this thread:

Blake Barnett broke through the middle of Alabama's defense and was off running.

It was only practice. But it was against the Tide's starting defense, the same unit that finished the season ranked third-best nationally and held 13 of Alabama's 15 opponents to 17 offensive points or less.

"He kind of showed some of the speed that he has," fellow redshirt freshman Deionte Thompson said of Barnett, whom ESPN ranked as the top dual-threat quarterback and 14th-best overall prospect in last year's recruiting class. "I was just like, 'Wow.' Not too many quarterbacks do that against our defense. I know it's practice. But still, that he was able to do that, that was pretty impressive."

Serving as a scout team quarterback, Barnett had periodic eye-catching moments like that in practice throughout the year against Alabama's first-team defense despite working with mostly fellow freshmen and walk-ons, enough that Tide All-American linebacker Reggie Ragland said the California native is "going to be a monster."

"Once he learns everything and gets stronger and all that stuff and does the things he has to do, he's going to be a monster in college football," Ragland said of Barnett, who will be among the players competing to replace departing senior Jake Coker as Alabama's starting quarterback.