Unlike his opponents tonight, Nick Saban is going with the more inexperienced player under center for the opener.
While it won’t be official for another couple of hours, al.com, citing unnamed sources, is reporting that Blake Barnett will start at quarterback for Alabama in their opener against USC tonight. The redshirt freshman had been involved in a quarterback competition with redshirt junior Cooper Bateman and freshman Jalen Hurts.
It was thought that Bateman, who served as Jake Coker‘s primary backup last season and started one game, would get the nod because of his experience. Bateman attempted 52 passes last season, while Barnett has yet to take a snap at the collegiate level.
A five-star 2015 recruit, Barnett was rated as the No. 2 pro-style quarterback in the country and the No. 21 player overall on 247sports.com’s composite board. The 6-5, 200-pounder took a redshirt as a true freshman.
Al.com noted that Barnett will become the youngest starting quarterback for Saban since he came to the Tide in 2007.