Cooper Bateman nearly became Alabama’s starting quarterback last season.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound redshirt junior from Utah appears to be building another strong case.
“Cooper has done a good job,” coach Nick Saban said Monday evening in a news conference. “He obviously has the most knowledge and experience with the offense, and he’s also the guy who’s probably gotten more reps with the ones than anybody else. I think there are things he needs to work on and we need to work on with him so that he can play with the kind of confidence and be the kind of leader and decision-maker that we need at that position to play winning football.”
Alabama held its fifth spring practice Monday afternoon, working out for two hours in full pads.
Bateman is the veteran of the Crimson Tide quarterback contingent, with Jake Coker having guided last year’s team to Southeastern Conference and national championships as a fifth-year senior. Alec Morris was a redshirt junior last season but transferred in December and is now at North Texas.
After backing Coker in opening games last September against Wisconsin and Middle Tennessee State, Bateman was tabbed to open the Ole Miss contest. He completed 11 of 14 passes for 87 yards but threw an interception and was replaced by Coker, who rallied the Crimson Tide from a two-touchdown deficit but came up short in a 43-37 loss.
That was Alabama’s lone setback of the season, and Bateman wound up completing 37 of 52 passes for 291 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
Coker, Bateman and Morris were the only Alabama quarterbacks to throw passes last season – Morris had one completion for 6 yards – so Bateman is vying this spring with the untested trio of redshirt sophomore David Cornwell, redshirt freshman Blake Barnett and early enrollee Jalen Hurts. Barnett enrolled early last year, as did Cornwell in 2014.
“David has had a good spring so far,” Saban said. “David’s arm talent is probably as good as anybody we have, and his accuracy is good. He’s a very bright guy, and I think he’s got enough experience in the offense to really have a good understanding of it. He’s made a lot of progress.”
Alabama will hold its first spring scrimmage Saturday in Bryant-Denny Stadium. It will be closed to the media, and Saban may not provide statistics.
The Crimson Tide are a long way off from their Sept. 3 opener against Southern California, and Saban doesn’t sound like he’s in a rush to name a starting quarterback.
“The guy who wins the quarterback job is going to be the guy who wins the team over with his ability to play on a consistent basis,” Saban said.
On the front line
With standout left tackle Cam Robinson sitting out this spring, redshirt freshman Lester Cotton has worked at left and right tackle. Former left guard Ross Pierschbacher continues to practice at center, but what about newcomer Charles Baldwin, a 6-5, 297-pounder from ASA College in New York?
“He’s a good athlete with a lot of ability,” Saban said, “but he’s got a lot to learn and a long way to go. We’re going to continue to work with him to get him to buy in and do the things the way we need him to do them so he can have success here.
“That might take some time, but we’ve got a lot of patience.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.