Former Alabama Quarterback Cooper Bateman Enrolls at Utah

Former Alabama quarterback Cooper Bateman has transferred to Utah for his final season of college football. Bateman, who was a former four-star quarterback recruit at Cottonwood High School, is already enrolled at Utah and is expected to join the football team as a preferred walk-on per Scott Garrard of 1280 The Zone and Kyle Goon of the Salt Lake Tribune.

He was the only four-star recruit from the state of Utah in the 2013 class. He was rated the No. 4 pro-style quarterback in the 247Sports Composite (current Utah quarterback Troy Williams was the No. 7 pro-style quarterback in 2013). An Elite 11 quarterback in high school, Bateman received offers from many programs, including the hometown Utes, but he opted to head to back-to-back National Champion Alabama. Bateman redshirted during his first season in Tuscaloosa, Ala. He saw some playing time at quarterback as a sophomore and a junior. He was also the holder for the Crimson Tide. While a member of the Alabama football team, Bateman was part of three College Football Playoffs and two National Championship games. He was part of the 2015 Alabama National Championship team.

While Bateman's background is primarily as a quarterback, he is a good athlete. He worked out at wide receiver some during his career at Alabama. It sounds like he will play wide receiver for Utah. He has played with some of the best players in college football on the biggest stage while at Alabama. Having that experience will be invaluable to a Utah team breaking in many new starters.