Saban pleased with Barnett and Hurts
Although Western Kentucky shredded Rice 46-14 last Thursday night, the Hilltoppers struggled to stop the running of Owls quarterback Tyler Stehling, who had 11 carries for 85 yards and a touchdown.
Alabama hosts Western Kentucky this Saturday, and Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban was asked after Wednesday’s practice whether running ability would factor into choosing Blake Barnett or Jalen Hurts as the starting quarterback for the Tide’s home opener. Saban didn’t bite. “I want to start who’s best for our team and who can do the best job for our team and who does the best job in practice this week,” he said in a news conference. “We’re pleased with the way both guys are progressing and what they’ve done this week, and I think we’ve got a plan that is maybe a little more tailored to the guys who played last week.”
Barnett started last Saturday’s 52-6 rout of Southern California, but it was Hurts who rallied the Crimson Tide from a 3-0 deficit midway through the second quarter and ignited a surge of 38 unanswered points.
Saban entered last week choosing between Barnett and Cooper Bateman, but Bateman didn’t play against USC until the outcome had long been decided and is now the odd man out to Barnett and Hurts.
“I think the team has responded well to both guys,” Saban said. “We’re excited about trying to develop a productive offensive team based on the skill set of the players that we have, which (offensive coordinator) Lane (Kiffin) has done a really good job of in the past. We’ve had different kinds of quarterbacks two or three years now in a row with little experience, so we’re just going to keep on keeping on, and it will be interesting to see how these guys continue to respond.”
Saban said junior receiver Cam Sims practiced Wednesday but is questionable for Saturday, and he also announced that gargantuan defensive lineman Raekwon Davis has been cleared by the NCAA and is eligible. The 6-foot-7, 315-pounder from Meridian, Miss., was a top-100 national signee this past winter, according to Rivals.com and 247Sports.com.
“He’s been able to practice the whole time,” Saban said. “We got him a lot of reps in fall camp, but last week, when we started game prep, we did not prep him with the defense, so he played on the scout team. Today was the first day that we knew he would be eligible, so he did rep some with the defense, but he was also on the scout team.
“We’ll do everything we can to get him ready to play, but I don’t know if we can get him ready for this game.”