BamaInsider is unveiling its annual top-40 list for the Alabama football team. Players were rated based on their projected impact for the Crimson Tide this season. Today we conclude the series with our most impactful player.
1 — Bryce Young, QB
2020 highlights: Played in nine games, taking part in 114 snaps… Completed 13 of 22 passes (59.1 percent) for 156 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions… Threw for a season-high 54 yards against Missouri… Recorded his first career touchdown pass against Kentucky.
Most memorable performance: Bryce Young attempted just 22 passes during his freshman season. Perhaps the two prettiest throws came during Alabama’s blowout victory over Kentucky.
Young completed both of his passes on the night, the first of which came on a season-long 35-yard deep ball to DeVonta Smith as the quarterback dropped the ball in perfectly to hit the receiver in stride. While that throw best highlighted Young’s arm, his second completion on the drive showed off his play-making ability.
Facing a third-and-goal from the 18-yard line, Young took a snap from the shotgun before ducking away from a charging Kentucky linebacker. From there, the nimble quarterback rolled to his right, throwing on the run to hit Smith through a window of two defenders at the 5-yard line. After catching the ball, the receiver spun out of contact and glided into the end zone. Young then quarterbacked Alabama to touchdowns in the game’s final two drives to cap off a 66-3 victory.
Why he's here: After learning behind Mac Jones during his record-breaking season, Young will be given the keys to Alabama’s high-powered attack. The only problem is that the sophomore won’t have the majority of last season’s offensive stars at his disposal. That’s where Young’s ability to make plays on his own should come in handy.
Young wasn’t able to show much while exclusively entering games late during blowout situations last year. However, one thing he was able to regularly demonstrate was his ability to elude defenders and extend plays. His touchdown pass against Kentucky is a prime example of this. Another instance came on his second-career snap during the season opener against Missouri. During that play, Young fielded a bad snap out of the shotgun with 265-pound defensive end Trajan Jeffcoat barreling toward him uncontested. From there, Young regathered himself, rotating across his body before delivering a off-balanced throw off his back foot to hit Smith for a reception just as Jeffcoat came crashing in.
Alabama will need to replace three members of last season’s Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line. That could see Young face plenty of early pressure in the pocket. Last season, the five-star quarterback had mixed results in such situations, delivering highlights like the ones mentioned earlier while also taking six sacks and losing the football twice.
If Young is able to add a bit more maturity to his escape artistry this season, he has the potential to be one of the most dangerous weapons in college football. He appears to be on that path as he wrapped up a productive spring by earning MVP honors on A-Day, completing 25 of 44 passes for 333 yards and a touchdown.
Possible achievements: Only five programs — Yale, Army, Ohio State, Southern California and Oklahoma — have produced Heisman Trophy winners in back-to-back years with the Sooners being the latest to accomplish the feat in 2017-18. Could Alabama add its name to that list this year? The experts in Las Vegas seem to think so.
According to SuperBook Sports, Young has the second-best odds to win the Heisman Trophy at +600, trailing only Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler at +500. While it will be difficult for Young to earn college football’s biggest individual honor in his first season as a starter, the accomplishment isn’t unheard of. Since 2010, four players — Cam Newton (2010), Johnny Manziel (2012), Jameis Winston (2013) and Kyler Murray (2018) — won the award in their first season as starters. Alabama’s recent quarterbacks have all had first-year success as Jones, Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts all earned first-team All-SEC honors during their first full season behind center.
On top of being a front-runner for several individual accolades, Young’s dual-threat ability makes him a candidate to break Alabama’s single-season total yards mark. Jones holds the record with 4,514 yards last season. If Young averages 300 yards per game through the air, he’ll be at 3,600 yards by the time the Tide wraps regular-season play. If you combine that with his ability to pile up yards on the ground, he could be in position to pass Jones depending on Alabama's postseason success.
Key quote: “Bryce has definitely stepped into his shoes,” Alabama running back Brian Robinson said of Young’s leadership ability this spring. “He accepted the fact that being a quarterback he has to be one of the most vocal guys on the offensive side of the ball. He’s been doing a great job with that... The biggest thing for Bryce is to continue to grow as a leader, and he’ll be great.”
