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Alabama QB competition down to Cooper Bateman, Blake Barnett

Alabama quarterback Cooper Bateman. (AP Photo/Butch Dill, File)
Alabama quarterback Cooper Bateman. (AP Photo/Butch Dill, File)

Nick Saban has not named a starting quarterback, but he did announce that the battle has been whittled down to two.

The Alabama head coach told reporters Monday that redshirt junior Cooper Bateman and redshirt freshman Blake Barnett are still in the running heading into Saturday night’s game against USC.

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“Bateman and Barnett are the two guys we’re getting ready to play in this game,” Saban said. “That’s the way it’s going to be for right now. We’re going to try to continue to develop all of our guys. And we make this choice, we make this decision with what’s going to give us the best chance to win this game. It’s also about future development of our players. We want to play the guy that’s the most ready to give us the best chance. That’s kind of where it is right now.”

Bateman is the only quarterback on the roster with experience at the college level. He started one game last year, but was beaten out for the starting role by Jacob Coker, who led the Tide to a national title. Overall last season, Bateman completed 37-of-52 passes for 291 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

Saban was complimentary of Bateman’s knowledge of the offense.

“He really manages things well when he’s out there because of his knowledge and experience. I think he’s continued to improve his passing ability and we have a lot of confidence in him. We feel good about the progress he’s made,” Saban said.

Saban said Barnett, now in his second season with the program, is bigger and stronger and has gained confidence.

“Blake has really been an effective passer for us,” Saban said. “We want to continue to try to develop him and see where his knowledge and experience will take him relative to whether we feel like he can be a winning player at that position or not.”

Bateman and Barnett had been competing with true freshman Jalen Hurts throughout preseason camp. Hurts, a dual-threat, has impressed the coaching staff and hasn’t been ruled out by Saban to see action this season.

“Jalen’s got a tremendous future. I think he’s got great ability,” Saban said. “I think what you have to be concerned about is if a guy is ready to go out there and not just do things that he can do, but can he run the offensive team? If the back’s lined up on the wrong side, is he going to put him on the right side? Is he going to be able to point out the protection so he can pick up the blitz? These are things we want to continue to be able to develop in players so when they go out on the field they can have success.

“Jalen has tremendous ability. Hopefully we’ll be able to develop it so that at some point in time this season he’s going to be a productive player for us.”

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Last year with Bateman and Coker, Saban rotated the two until one separated himself. He said there is a benefit to playing both because players react different in games than they would during practice.

“I can’t tell you how they’re going to play in a game, especially the guys that have never played in a game,” Saban said. “Cooper has played some in a game here. That experience is certainly a benefit to him. Some guys go into a game and they play a lot better. There’s no perfect way to do it.”

For more Alabama news, visit TideSports.com.

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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!