I tend to agree with this.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.
Well, Coker lost the job to Sims but had limited time in the offense at that point but I get your point. I'm not at all disagreeing how the QB situation was handled but I don't think BB really got a real shot at the starting job vs USC. He got only 2 series before Jalen came in and took over for most of the game. Its not like JH was killing it after his 1st 2 series either...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.