OT: Saban and his QB's - are you not surprised?
I haven't seen this posted, but wow is this telling of the manner in which Saban communicates (or not) with his supposedly key players. I just can't see this kind of horseshit happening in a Harbaugh interaction with a Peters or McCaffery. Bateman and Barnett were 5* QBs that I know we were after at certain stages. Hurts is a talent, no question, but not all is fun and games in Tuscaloosa.
http://nypost.com/2017/08/08/ex-alabama-qbs-nick-saban-screwed-us/
I am not surprised
I'm not hip though
It's up vote bait.
....up vote bait, phew, this is up vote bait....
August 8th, 2017 at 11:12 PM ^
Well-played.
Yup. Hurts won the job.
Saban ripping on the kid for leaving on his radio show is pretty shitty though. The kid saw the writing on the wall and made a smart decision to save himself a year of eligibility.
Saban should have just said nothing about it, but this is a complete non-story and Barnett comes across worse to me. He basically says he was promised the starter role regardless of talent. That's not the case anywhere. Would we all commend O'Korn if he quit the team because he wasn't the starter after week 2 last year? No, this board would eviscerate him. I'm fine with Barnett's decision but crying that "Saban screwed us" is a joke. Saban played the QB that gives them the best chance to win. Period. We call this Harbaugh's meritocracy, but with Saban it's bad? I was hoping this story was about Saban's history of 5 star talent and lack of development of any of them. That's way more damning than a spurned lover crying about being beat by a freshman.
They committed to a school who's recruiting practices are beyond suspect and that has a complete tool as a head coach. They then whine because they did not get there participation trophy. Between them and their sense of entitlement and Saban whining about satelite camps, this kind of stuff seems the norm at that school and the sec.. Saban saying stuff about them to the media though is flat out a punk move from a man with no conscience. Unless playing a completely favored opponent, Saban would not suspend a starting player even if he knew that player was involved in 16 murders, 10 rapes and 9 cases of computer fraud. LOL.
I don't think this board would've eviscerated him if he decided to go elsewhere. Morris did that and people were very complementary to him.
Like Harbaugh once said, Universities don't own the players. If they can find a better situation elsewhere, they should go, just like coaches do.
August 9th, 2017 at 12:03 PM ^
Morris and O'Korn (my comparable to Barnett) are very different. Morris left with very positive things to say about UM AND with a diploma AND after the season when AND he would have been the #4 or #5 QB. O'Korn could probably leave now and we wouldn't even be upset. My comparable was a QB who was in a real competition (he started that game) and walked away very quickly in the middle of the season. There is no doubt Barnett would have been the backup if Hurts gets hurt or just has freshman moments and struggles. Barnett quit. He did it with a plan so he could play the following year which is fine for him but I'm not surprised people are mad at him.
August 9th, 2017 at 10:59 PM ^
Not shocking the NY Post would mine the hundreds of D-1 QBs that transfer annually for an inflammatory quote
it was reported on ESPN originally: http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/20279681/nick-saban-tac…
they let others do the mining!
Here's the remaining ESPN crew at work
Well, you know what they say: sometimes, when you have three qb's that just means you only have one. Or something.
Looks like both transfers are fighting for jobs at Utah and Arizona State, fwiw.
maybe it was also Saban making implied promises of playing time he shouldn't have. Hard to know the whole story. But, given Saban's personality and more distant coaching philosophy, I can see the potential of poor communication.
It doesn't sound like any of Saban's promises were implied. Both kids spoke of how they were told one thing (actually the same thing) while Saban went in another direction. The dude is going to cover his bases one way or another. The bit about his dad kicking him out of the house is a crock of shit - Saban kicks kids to a directional DII school with impunity.
Saban probably promised him the starting job... until he sucked. I have a hard time getting upset about this. Kid got beat out by a freshman. It happens.
August 9th, 2017 at 12:12 PM ^
He played 3 series in that game. The first 2 of the game and the last one. He had exactly 1 yard passing and a sack in the first 2 series. In the last series, against backups when they were up 5 touchdowns, he had one big pass for a TD and not much else. He continued to get reps through game 3 when he decided to quit the team.
Saban lied to them so they would stick around.
I need that TP!
Logged in just to upvote; that is a gold mine waiting to be claimed. Sales would be through the roof!
August 8th, 2017 at 10:47 PM ^
"Sales would be through the roof?" They tried it and sales went down the shitter...
A few thoughts:
- Although people ripped Barnett on his commitment/competitiveness for leaving after one game, the fact that he'll be eligible 1 calendar year later does make sense why he did it.
- I think it obviously makes sense that Hurts got to play and took over the starting job. Sounds like the issue was the communication and what was promised, but it's impossible to know what was said behind closed doors. Nothing's guaranteed and the best players are gonna play.
- Saban ripping on him his radio show isn't a great look. Although if the quote in the article is all he said, it's not really that harsh, albeit a bit unnecessary. (I'm too lazy to look up if there was more said...)
yeah, pretty dickish move to call the kid out. If you tell a high profile recruit that he is gonna start, then have a freshman pass over him, the kid is gonna want out. At the end of the day it is the players life and he needs to make the best decisions for himself and not worry about if it hurts Sabans feelings that he quit the team.
Good points by everyone. At the end of the day, I think Saban did what he thought was best for the team to win. Consequently, he was correct in playing the freshman. Hurts played very well for a freshman all season and he sets them up to be stronger for the next two seasons. He's probably the 2nd best QB in CFB behind Lamar at Louisville.
Hurts is pretty good but nowhere close to 2nd best in CFB. I agree that Saban made the right decision, but Hurts wasn't even the best QB in the SEC. Danny Etling had more YPA than him. His feet really helped him but even if you look at that there were better QBs in the SEC (Josh Dobbs better in YPG, YPA, and rushing YPG). As far as this year--there are plenty of better QBs. Baker Mayfield is still around for example.
His statement in this article about there being two sides -- one involving commitment to the team and the other involving pursuing better opportunities -- applies equally to him.
He quit on the Miami Dolphins for the Bama job (after repeatedly denying he woudl do so)!
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/nick-saban-quit-team-dolphin…
Headline:
“Nick Saban calls out Blake Barnett for transferring from Alabama, forgetting he once totally lied and then quit on the Miami Dolphins”
Really good point. Totally forgot about him ditching Miami to take the Alabama job.
Pretty hypocritical of him....
Man, the media gets it wrong so often it's almost astounding when they absolutely nail it, like the NYDN did with that article.
Saban going on a talk radio show and bashing a 20 year old kid isn't the best look, but do you think he cares? Do you think ANY Alabama fan cares? Saban is the most powerful man in that state. As long as he keeps winning, he can say whatever he wants.
I don't blame the guys for leaving. Hurts wasn't a RS senior where Barnett and Bateman could afford to wait a year and then start in 2018 after he graduated. Hurts was a true freshman. If he beat out both of those guys to start in his first ever collegiate game, that means he's legitimately better than them. That also means there's a pretty good chance that Hurts was going to grab the reins to the offense and never give them back. Bateman and Barnett would've been career backups had they stayed, with zero shot at the NFL.
To some it may look like they were quitting, but if I know I'm never going to get to really play, I'd rather give myself a chance to start somewhere else (especially the following year) than "suck it up" and "be a team player." It's their career and their life, and they did what was best for them. Sure, some people will say they're afraid of competition and all that bullshit, but if you dream of playing on Sundays, what good is competing going to do you when you know that if you stay, you will never see the field in anything other than garbage time? Sure, you made Saban happy. But NFL scouts don't know who the hell you are or why they should even bother watching your tape, much less draft you.
Alabama is a factory. If you go there you take your chance at getting processed. The Alabama football program is not about fairness, or getting a degree or developing as a human, it's about winning. That is all.
Saban's initial recruiting ploy to these guys may have had some truth in there but once he seen something else that was brighter and shinier he moved on without a second thought. No recruit or player is above Nick Saban.
But that does not mean it is necessary to be dishonest with players or throw them under the bus in public.
We all want M to win as much as Alabama has been winning in recent years.
Being dishonest with players and bashing them in the media are not among the reasons Alabama is winning so much. They are winning in spite of this counter-productive stuff.
JH's way (promise nothing more than that every day is a straight up competition) is both more fair and also more likely to generate the sort of locker room where guys stick around.
just not a succesful NFL QB factory. The last Alabama QB that had success in the NFL is...
Ken Stabler?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Alabama_Crimson_Tide_starting_quarterbacks