Rumors blazing as Alabama football adds an ’18 QB with transfer implications
By Ronald Evans
On Friday afternoon, it was reported Alabama football is adding another QB to the 2018 class. Layne Hatcher is joining the Tide instead of Arkansas State.
Alabama football has been searching for an additional backup quarterback since last December. Brock Purdy, Brevin White and Gardner Minshew were pursued but they chose other options. The Crimson Tide appears to have filled the need with Layne Hatcher, who originally committed to Arkansas State.
Layne Hatcher is not well known. He is considered a dual-threat QB. 247Sports rates Hatcher as a 3-Star and the No. 53, dual-threat QB in the nation. The rating service also lists 2,181 other players higher overall in the 2018 class. Trusting in Nick Saban is always a sound plan so we Alabama football fans should not freak out over how good Hatcher is or isn’t.
The Barker household might be an exception to remaining calm. Jay’s son, Braxton is a Tide walk-on who just got bumped down in the Alabama football QB pecking order.
Bigger question causing immediate concern
The question immediately on the minds of every Alabama football fan is what does the new commit mean in terms of current players and transfers. At this point, there is no new, solid information either Jalen Hurts or Mac Jones are expected to transfer. Neither are impacted by the addition of Hatcher.
The best guess we can make is Saban is just being cautious. He does not want to compete at any time in 2018 with only two scholarship quarterbacks. Be advised, message board rumors will tell many different stories. As always, we will share any that appear credible.
The other, far less stressful, unanswered question is the actual status of Hatcher. Assuming he previously signed with Arkansas State, he might be forced to spend his freshman season with the Crimson Tide as a walk-on.
For those Alabama football fans who enjoy exploring doomsday scenarios, try this one. Either Jalen or Mac Jones decide in late summer or early fall to transfer. One of the two current QB’s then remaining has a season-ending injury. The guy who is one play away from leading the Crimson Tide offense is the 2,182nd best player from the 2018 signing class.
UPDATED: May 25th 3:20 PM CST – Alabama football has at least one available scholarship for 2018. It appears Hatcher could use it because he was either going to grayshirt or be a walk-on at Arkansas State in 2018. Another point to consider is Dan Enos has deep knowledge of Arkansas high school QB’s. Maybe Enos saw something in Hatcher the rating services missed.
Next: 25 Greatest Games in Saban Era
We will continue to follow this evolving story closely. This post will be updated with any new information.