Rumor has it…

[therealu]

…that Cooper Bateman is enrolled at the University of Utah. Interesting.

[rbmw263]

A Cooper Bateman is enrolled at utah. Not a common name. It’s likely him

[voxnihili]

He could be an excellent replacement if Wishnowski doen’t want to hold for PATs.

[cbmute]

He is not going to hold for kicks. Clearly they are bringing him in to play safety to replace Williams. 

[Utah]

Whether it’s Bateman or Williams or Huntley, Utah will have a much better passing game this fall. 

This is huge news. Remember, Bateman has started at QB at Alabama. No QB at Utah is good enough to win the job at Alabama. 

This is HUGE. 

[jamarcus24]

In years past I wouldn’t have been super excited about this but now that we have an OC who will actually put a lot of emphasis into QB play I guess it doesn’t hurt to have the cupboard stocked.  At the very least Cooper has WR experience from Bama so one position group is going to be bolstered one way or the other.

[Utah]

100 times this. I completely agree. A few years ago, I would have been completely unimpressed with this (like when K. Thompson came over). Now, holy cow. Bateman has legit talent. He won the starting job at Alabama before Kiffin showed up. He can play. This isn’t some washed up, over-rated prospect. This is a legit college football QB and we have a legit QB coach who has done a lot more with a lot less. 

We always talk about what Taylor has done with Browning. Bateman is a much more talent QB. I can’t wait for spring ball. So freaking pumped. 

[Anonymous]

Pump the brakes bro. He started 1 game and got pulled, replaced by Coker:

2. Bateman’s lone start at quarterback came in a home loss to Ole Miss.
Bateman completed 11 of 14 pass attempts against the Rebels, but with 87 yards and an interception he didn’t have the impact the Alabama coaching staff envisioned when naming him the starter ahead of the 43-37 defeat. Thirty of those 87 yards came on one play, as he connected with tight end O.J. Howard on the Crimson Tide’s first drive of the game. Alabama would eventually turn the ball over on downs on that drive, with Bateman’s pass to Robert Foster on 4th-and-2 from the Ole Miss 27 falling short of the line to gain.

With the Crimson Tide trailing 17-3 in the second quarter Bateman was replaced by Coker, who led Alabama to a touchdown on his first drive of the game. Alabama would trail by as much as 20 (30-10) before mounting a comeback that would ultimately fall short. That would be the Crimson Tide’s lone defeat of the 2015 campaign.

[noneyadb]

Ding ding ding we have a winner folks.

[CawCawUte]

Not now with that freshman phenom but let’s not pretend that Bateman was superior to any kid on the roster today.  That is a stretch.

[Tacoma Ute]

He only has one year left right?

[Utah]

Yes

[deleted]

Is this soley from Twitter?

[UtahMan77]

Yes. They pulled the info from the U’s website. Per 1280 Scott Gerard

Scott Gerrad’s twitter

[jamarcus24]

That’s not weird at all.

[CawCawUte]

Great.  Let’s take a kid who was a great holder – upset our current starter by playing him; throw the team into chaos and then sit back and watch the collective melt down.  Cooper will never nor should he ever play at Utah.

[KiYi-Ute]

This is intriguing.

Competition is a good thing.

[Tacoma Ute]

Possible switch to WR?

[UtesMuss1]

Interesting that the tds fans are concerned if he plays at Utah. lols.

[loyter]

He’ll make a great safety.

[Puget Ute]

What kind if QB was he in high school? I remember he is a big athlete, like Chase Hansen (though perhaps a better passer but not as quick).

[Utah]

He was a good enough QB to win the job at Alabama. He is a very, very good athlete. If he doesn’t win the QB job, I’d expect him to play WR. 

[uteman12]

I saw this via Bill Riley on Twitter: Link to his Twitter

[leftyjace]

Holy crap!

Competition is good!

[leftyjace]

http://www.sltrib.com/blogs/uofusports/4868007-155/utah-football-former-alabama-qb-cooper

[vcsg01]

Too bad he didn’t just come here first. I wonder how many of these highly recuited guys leave the state looking for stardom and don’t ever find it, when they could have been very successful here.

[UtahFanSir]

When CB committed to Alabama in 2012, more than a few cynical fans (on UF.N) suggested he would end up at Utah as a transfer. Cooper must have been really good as a HS QB to draw as much recruiting attention as he did. I’ve followed his career some, wished him well, wondered what could have been at Utah.

At ths point, would the Utes want/need him? One year of eligibility, no RS, with TW2 and Huntley in the wings? Not clear to me that CB is here to be a Ute.

Thoughts…

 

 

[GameForAnyFuss]

According to the Trib, he’ll be joining the team for spring ball.

http://www.sltrib.com/home/4868007-155/utah-football-former-alabama-qb-cooper

[Anonymous]

He either lights it up at some position, or he rides the pine.  Better get that graduate degree because there won’t be much else out there for this nomad.