Facing a five-man blitz, Bryce Young waited patiently in the pocket before delivering a screen pass moments before a linebacker came crashing at his feet. The easy toss was thrown to a wide-open Jase McClellan who caught it at the 16-yard line before rumbling to the end zone for Alabama’s final touchdown in last weekend’s 48-14 victory over Mercer.
The play likely won’t be included in Young’s highlight reel at the end of the season. However, it serves as another example of the sophomore quarterback’s growing poise in the pocket.
Through two games, Young has been one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the nation when it comes to facing heat from opposing defenses. According to Pro Football Focus, his 132.4 NFL passer rating under pressure ranks third in the nation among quarterbacks who have dropped back at least 20 times under duress. He leads the nation with five touchdown passes when pressured and ranks third picking up 14 first downs under such circumstances.
“First of all, I think that he's got a really good feel in the pocket, moving into pocket and, sort of, you know, moving away from the rush, stepping up when he needs to step up,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said Monday. “He's very quick, very quick feet, quick release he gets his feet back underneath them so that he's throwing the ball on balance and accurately.
"And then, you know he's a very bright guy, so he really understands how the other team is trying to pressure and tries to protect himself with the plan that we, you know, try to put together as coaches so we can protect him.”
It’s a lose-lose situation for opposing defenses. Young is actually better when not pressured, completing 82.1 percent (32 of 39) of his passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns. On the other hand, he’s made the majority of his big plays when pressed in the pocket.
Young has completed a respectable 53.8 percent (14 of 26) of his passes for 286 yards and five touchdowns when put under pressure this season. That’s especially impressive considering five of his incompletions came as he was throwing the ball away.
Young’s 11.0 yards per attempt under pressure ranks fourth nationally among quarterbacks with 20 pressured dropbacks. It’s worth noting that a good chunk of his yardage came on a 94-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams during the opener against Miami. However, that play is a prime example of the quarterback’s ability to find receivers for big plays when hurried in the pocket.
“I guess, in the moment, it’s not really something you feel,” Young said Monday. “You always have a specific read or a specific thing you’re looking for. For each play, there’s always a pre-snap and a post-snap process that I’m going through, and really, that doesn’t change.
“I think that’s kind of what we work on, what we practice and what we’ve been taught here is you have to make sure that you can keep your eyes downfield and make sure that you know what’s going on. Obviously, there’s many things where you have to move, that’s kind of a reactionary thing, but when there’s stuff closing in, you have to make sure that your eyes are downfield and make sure that isn’t really affecting you.”
This weekend, Young will be up against a Florida pass rush that has recorded a combined nine quarterback hurries over its two wins against Florida Atlantic and South Florida. The Gators are led by preseason All-SEC defensive lineman Zachary Carter, who has already piled up three sacks and 5.5 tackles for a loss to go with a forced fumble this season.
Despite Florida’s ability to hurry the passer, the Gators have been susceptible to giving up chunk yardage through the air this season. Florida has allowed three plays of 30 or more yards through the air, including two that went 40 or more yards.
“They have a really good group defensively, you know, really, top to bottom extremely talented,” Young said. “They do a good job defensively, schematically. They make good adjustments. I’ve seen them communicate well. But really, top to bottom just from watching them on film, they’re a group that we know we have to prepare for. A group that we know we have to go out and practice for, and we'll go into a hostile environment playing a really good team. And defensively they’re really good.
“We know that as a unit, and we know that it’s going to take everything, all the preparation. We’re gonna have to attack this week in order to you know perform good on Saturday.”
No. 1 Alabama (2-0) and No. 11 Florida (2-0) are set to kickoff at 2:30 p.m. CT inside of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The matchup will not only mark Young’s first SEC start but also his first true road start as he is set to suit up in front of an 88,548-capacity crowd of orange and blue.
That atmosphere figures to provide a pressure of its own. Although, if 300-pound defenders haven’t rattled the Tide’s new starting quarterback, a few extra decibels shouldn’t either.
“We know the challenges that are in front of us this weekend,” Young said. “We know how hostile the environment’s gonna be. For me and really for everyone on the team, it’s something that Coach is gonna prepare for, something that we’re not taking lightly at all.
“And we know that we have to work on making sure that we have everything right during the week, making sure that we’re good in our communication and making sure that we have everything repped well during the week. We know the challenges ahead.”
