Former Alabama QB Blake Barnett Transferring To Arizona State Sun Devils


Former Alabama quarterback Blake Barnett will transfer to Arizona State, joining Todd Graham’s Sun Devils as a part of their 2017 recruiting class.


It’s been a wild year for former 5-star quarterback Blake Barnett. Only a few months ago, Barnett was the starting quarterback for the defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide. Now, he’s on his way to the Pac-12.

Barnett is transferring to Arizona State as a JUCO prospect in the Sun Devils’ 2017 recruiting class, which ranks No. 68 in the nation with eight total commits. The former 5-star prospect tweeted out a picture with head coach Todd Graham to announce the news. Barnett gave Graham a cake for his birthday that wished the ASU head coach a happy birthday and read, “I’m in. Forks up!”

Barnett, who is originally from Corona, California, had transferred from Alabama to Palomar Community College in California during the middle of the season after he had lost the starting job to true freshman Jalen Hurts.

However, he isn’t alone. On the heels of the Tide’s 54-16 win over Florida in the SEC title game, the news broke that quarterback Cooper Bateman would seek a transfer from Alabama as well, leaving the Tide with only two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster: Hurts and redshirt sophomore David Cornwell.

When he signed with Alabama in the 2015 recruiting class, Barnett was the No. 2 quarterback and No. 30 overall player. Now, he’s headed to the Sun Devils where the competition isn’t that much easier.

Arizona State has redshirt freshman Bryce Perkins, redshirt sophomore Manny Wilkins, freshman Dillon Sterling-Cole, freshman Shawn Akina and redshirt freshman Brady White all listed on the roster and, at the moment, ready to return next season. That isn’t to say Barnett can’t win the job, but Sterling-Cole signed with ASU as a 4-star recruit in the 2016 class, and Wilkins was productive for the Sun Devils as a starter this past season — when healthy.

The Sun Devils were ranked No. 42 in passing offense, having gained 259.3 yards per game through the air.

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