Is Blake Barnett the make-or-break piece to the Alabama puzzle? Or will the Tide do just fine without him at the helm?

Let’s look at what Alabama did at the position last year after similar uncertainty. Tide QB Jake Coker wasn’t the best quarterback to come through Tuscaloosa, but he was competent: 3,110 yards, 21 TDs and 8 INTs. He got the job done, and he helped lead the Tide to yet another national title. And he did it all with a broken toe.

Needless to say, he will need to be replaced.

The two obvious contenders for the starting job are Blake Barnett and Cooper Bateman, but David Cornwell and Jalen Hurts are still taking snaps. We haven’t seen much of Bateman, and we’ve seen nothing of Barnett, so the question of which one should start for the Tide is a difficult one to answer.

The Tide redshirted Barnett last year after he arrived as a five-star recruit from offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin’s wish list. Not only does Barnett have the arm strength to rival Coker’s, but he’s depicted as more accurate and more mobile. Arriving in Tuscaloosa as a rail-thin teenager, he’s also added some weight to his 6-foot-5 frame. But there is a downside: he hasn’t thrown a single college pass.

Bateman has the benefit of experience. And if history repeats itself for the fifth time, that experience as backup will win him the job. Bateman backed up Coker last season, as Alabama fell behind and eventually lost to Ole Miss during his lone start, during which he was replaced.

He never had the arm strength demonstrated by Coker, though he’s been touted as athletic, similar to former starter Blake Sims.

Granted, many of his throws came against Middle Tennessee State and Charleston Southern. But Bateman’s completion rate in the 2015 season ended at just above 71 percent, which, by the way, is better than Coker, Bulldogs QB Dak Prescott, Rebels QB Chad Kelly and — well, every other quarterback in the SEC.

The difference between this quarterback competition of those of years past is that for the first time since Tide head coach Nick Saban came to Tuscaloosa, Alabama is going into the season without a seasoned running back.

Tide RB Bo Scarbrough looks to be the frontrunner for the starting job, though Damien Harris and 2016 class signee B.J. Emmons are competing for carries. Scarbrough towers above some of his teammates at 6-foot-2 and a lean 230 pounds. In 2015, he carried the ball just 18 times for 104 yards a single TD. But he and Harris have drawn a good review from Saban in spring practice so far.

Harris actually produced better numbers than Scarbrough in 2015 (46 carries, 157 yards, TD).

Last season, the Tide had an ominous backfield duo in Heisman winner Derrick Henry and former Alabama RB Kenyan Drake. And even with the two powerhouses, the Crimson Tide finished the season with the No. 32-ranked rushing offense. So maybe the backfield transition won’t make as big of an impact on the ’16 offense as one would think.

The Tide receiving corps will need more than a handoff from whichever quarterback wins the starting job in 2016. This year’s corps will be led by Calvin Ridley, ArDarius Stewart and Robert Foster, who ran some pretty fast 40-yard dashes earlier this month. Senior TE OJ Howard will also be downfield for the Tide.

Alabama should not be doomed if Barnett loses the starting job. But the national title isn’t in the bag if he wins the spot, either. The Tide can win with either of the quarterbacks as long as this team replaces the leadership it is losing to graduation and to the NFL.

And that may be the crux of the quarterback competition. It should be about more than on-field performance, as Alabama is going to need the starter to be a leader of that unit as well.