Barnett, Hurts give Tide defense a look at Watson's role

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Typically, a black jersey at an Alabama practice means a player is excused from contact.

Those shirts are reserved for injured players and quarterbacks as the Crimson Tide doesn't want them taking unnecessary hits.

This week however, scout team quarterbacks beware. Hitting is still an option according to Tide defensive coordinator Kirby Smart. Freshman Blake Barnett and January enrollee Jalen Hurts have been playing the role of Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson as Alabama prepares for the national championship against the Tigers on Monday.

Hurts is only three practices into his Alabama career, but the four-star prospect out of Texas has already been put to work.

"They've beaten (Barnett) up a little bit, roughed him up, and even though he's got a black jersey on he gets popped some," Smart said Wednesday during Alabama's media day. "Same as we've been doing with Jalen (Hurts), we tell those guys, 'Hey, you're live. Just because you've got a black jersey on you're going to get hit -- and you need to get hit.'"

Smart said it's all a part of the maturation process for the young quarterbacks while giving the first-team defense and reserves the best look simulation of Clemson possible.

"It makes them better and it makes us practice tackling the quarterback, which is not always natural since we don't get to hit quarterbacks all the time," Smart said. "Both those guys have done an excellent job. They're good leaders, as well as David Cornwell. He's a little different dynamic but we roll those three guys in there it's kind of a luxury to have those three guys working on Clemson's offense for me."

While mentioning that the scout-team quarterbacks have "done a great job" in practice, Smart said the one thing Alabama "can't simulate is the tempo" which Watson and Clemson use to its advantage.

Alabama has faced dual-threat quarterbacks throughout the season, but none have been as lethal as Watson. Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs, who Tide linebacker Reggie Ragland compared to Watson, is the most prolific runner the Tide faced this season (671 rushing yards).

Watson, a Heisman trophy finalist, has thrown for 3,699 yards and 31 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. He's rushed for another 1,032 yards and 12 scores. Watson accounted for 332 yards of offense and two touchdowns in the Tigers Orange Bowl semifinal win over Oklahoma.

"Deshaun Watson is certainly one of the best football players in the country, no doubt, in terms of what his production, performance, leadership has been," Tide coach Nick Saban said Wednesday.

A reporter posed the question to Smart on who he would compare Watson to between former Auburn quarterbacks Nick Marshall and Cam Newton or former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel. Both Manziel and Newton won the Heisman trophy and went on to become first-round NFL draft picks. Smart choose all three.

"It's almost like a mixture of the three guys with Nick Marshall as a perimeter runner. Deshaun runs well on the perimeter," Smart said. "Johnny Manziel was a great athlete, created things in space. So does Deshaun Watson. This guy runs more power run game like you would say Cam Newton does. Obviously, he's not the same stature as Cam, but he runs some of the similar plays that Auburn ran with him. So the mixture of those three guys, he takes a little bit from each one, because he can pass the pass. I watched this kid in high school. He is a phenomenal player, but more than that he has the 'it' factor. They believe in him. That's pretty important at that position."

-- Contact Anniston Star Sports Writer Marq Burnett at mburnett@annistonstar.com. On Twitter:@Marq_Burnett.

This story was originally published January 6, 2016 at 9:40 PM with the headline "Barnett, Hurts give Tide defense a look at Watson's role ."