Link: Transfer QBs felt misled by Coach Saban

B1GTide said:

If this was just Barnett, I would write it off. Bateman was a stand up guy who didn't quit on Alabama even when it became clear that he was not going to get a shot to start. I'll accept him at his word. He felt that Saban didn't communicate things well enough with him, so Saban didn't.

If Kiffin was spinning things with the QBs (a real possibility), that is still on Saban. He knows how important communication is, and it is his program.

ETA - I have teen boys. They tend to hear what they want to hear. You really have to make sure that they hear what you mean, not what they want to hear. It takes effort on both sides to effectively communicate.

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gtgilbert said:

Bateman got beat out by a QB (Coker) who was beat out by an ex-RB (Sims). Think about that for a minute... I think Bateman is one of those guys who is a really good athlete, the best at his HS, who gets put into the QB role, but that who likely should have switched positions in college. As a receiver or possibly even a S, i think he could have been a contributor.

As for BB, like others have said, that situation is a combination of four things: 1. Jalen proved he needed to play early in camp. 2. BB did pretty well in camp, but not well enough to close the door on Jalen. 3. BB's in-game performance was not very good, where Jalen showed he was more game-ready (despite the fumble on the first snap). 4. Other adults (CLK and BB's dad) not looking at it objectively that the player that just beat out BB was headed for an all-SEC and SEC offensive player of the year honors as a True Freshmen, which I don't think ANYONE would have predicted.

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CrimsonProf said:

I'm not trying to play the "I'm connected" card but everyone I spoke to leading up to that game said JH would play early and often. No way that was a locker room secret. As one noted Bama fan tweeted earlier, those guys heard what they wanted to hear.


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B1GTide said:

If this was just Barnett, I would write it off. Bateman was a stand up guy who didn't quit on Alabama even when it became clear that he was not going to get a shot to start. I'll accept him at his word. He felt that Saban didn't communicate things well enough with him, so Saban didn't.

If Kiffin was spinning things with the QBs (a real possibility), that is still on Saban. He knows how important communication is, and it is his program.

ETA - I have teen boys. They tend to hear what they want to hear. You really have to make sure that they hear what you mean, not what they want to hear. It takes effort on both sides to effectively communicate.

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superbamashane2 said:

I might be in the minority on this, but leading into the USC game I don't think they miscommunicated anything to BB. I think it was his job to lose, and that's exactly what he did. When the lights came on, he and Hurts switched roles. I really believe the staff wanted the more experienced Barnett under center, but he faltered and Hurts surprised everyone.

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RTR91 said:

Saban has said he gathered from talking to the leadership council during camp last year that Jalen was winning over the team.

Don't recall seeing anything last year from Saban to suggest the staff wanted BB8 to win the job.

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superbamashane2 said:

I'm not saying they made anything public. I'm saying that from a coaches perspective you have to think that they wanted the more experienced player in the game, and break the true freshman in a little at a time. Everybody knew Hurts was good and everybody knew he would play. I don't think anybody expected a true freshman to come in and take over the starting job in the first quarter of the first game.

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superbamashane2 said:

I'm not saying they made anything public. I'm saying that from a coaches perspective you have to think that they wanted the more experienced player in the game, and break the true freshman in a little at a time. Everybody knew Hurts was good and everybody knew he would play. I don't think anybody expected a true freshman to come in and take over the starting job in the first quarter of the first game.

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superbamashane2 said:

I'm not saying they made anything public. I'm saying that from a coaches perspective you have to think that they wanted the more experienced player in the game, and break the true freshman in a little at a time. Everybody knew Hurts was good and everybody knew he would play. I don't think anybody expected a true freshman to come in and take over the starting job in the first quarter of the first game.

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RTR91 said:

Well technically, the more experienced player (Bateman) did start the game. Then, Jalen got his chance and shined. When BB8 got his chance, he looked like he put on a football pads for the first time.

Ideal situation for the coaches would have been to RS Jalen and start Bateman or BB8 for the season. No doubt.

Jalen won over the team during summer workouts, fall camp, and the first few games. The coaches knew it, too.

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JustNeedMe81 said:

Few writers have chimed on this:
Aaron Suttles- " Blake Barnett didn't win the starting quarterback job in 2015 and 2016 for one reason: he was a turnover machine in scrimmages."
Marq Burnett- "Bateman had every chance to start in 2015. Hurts was the best player for the team last season ( 2016). All the veterans loved him. That's it. "

Another person chimed in:
Hunter Johnson- "Every person I talked to the week of USC game said " Expect Hurts to play a lot" Bateman & Barnett heard what they wanted to hear."

So really....

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gtgilbert said:

These are the real story.

BB was likely told - you will start the game. What he heard was "you are our starter", i.e. you've won the QB battle, when it's likely Saban meant, you've earned the start for this game and we'll continue to evaluate how you guys react in game situations.

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