Bryce Young isn’t running from the expectations placed upon him as he enters his first season as Alabama’s starting quarterback. That’s exactly what the former five-star commit signed up for when he joined the Crimson Tide as the top-rated passer in last year’s class.
“Bama is where you come for pressure and come for expectations,” Young said Thursday during his first media availability as an Alabama player. “Everyone here when they signed on the dotted line and decided to come here we knew it was going to come with expectations.”
Despite having yet to start a game at the college level, Young is already one of the biggest names in college football at the moment. Earlier this year, Alabama head coach Nick Saban revealed that the sophomore has already earned nearly $1 million in endorsement deals stemming from his name, image and likeness. Young has also seen his name mentioned as a Heisman Trophy favorite as VegasInsider currently gives him the second-best odds behind Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler. That’s to be expected when you take on the starting role behind center at the No.1 program in the nation.
As of now, the expectations haven't seemed to bother Young one bit.
“Honestly, I don’t think it’s something that’s unique to me,” he said. “I think everyone in the building has those expectations, and I think that’s a big part of the success that we’ve had and the success that we’re working towards having. Saban setting that standard and us putting those expectations on ourselves is really what pushes us day in and day out and makes us a lot better each and every day.”
Young will have a tough act to follow during his first season as a starter as he’ll be tasked with replacing All-American Mac Jones, who set NCAA single-season records in completion percentage and quarterback efficiency rating while leading the Tide to a 14-0 record and a national title. Of course, taking over for a star quarterback is nothing new for the Pasadena, Calif. native who followed fellow five-star passer, JT Daniels, during his junior season at Mater Dei High School.
Young filled in flawlessly for Daniels that season, passing for 3,846 yards and 39 touchdowns while leading Mater Dei to the state title. However, when asked Thursday about being in a similar situation this year, he said he doesn’t plan to lean on his past success.
“For me, I really get my confidence and my drive really in my work ethic,” Young said. “For us it’s about being prepared about working hard, day-in and day-out, on the field and off the field, making sure that we’re pushing ourselves as hard as we can and when you work hard and you push yourselves and try not to cut any corners or skip anything or take any easy way outs. That’s where the confidence comes from, and for me it’s less on leaning on previous experiences or comparing other things.”
Young saw limited action while playing behind Jones last year. Making nine appearances, the former five-star recruit attempted just 22 passes, completing 13 of them for 156 yards and a touchdown. However, despite his lack of playing time, Young says he was able to develop tremendously during his freshman season.
“Being able to watch last year’s team and be a part of it and really see what made it tick and see the success that we had last year was really big for me,” he said. “As a young player coming in, getting to play behind Mac and really sit behind and watch him and see him operate last year to see all the stuff he did on the field and to see all the stuff he did off the field. All the stuff that not everyone knows that he did and to see how he was so successful to see the culture of the team to see the strengths to see all that as a young guy from So Cal was really big for me.”
Young said taking a backseat role to last season’s success not only served as a learning experience but is also a motivating factor heading into the biggest season of his career. This offseason, the sophomore said he has been working on becoming a bigger presence in the huddle as he looks to take on a leadership role of his own.
“I just try to be a leader on the field,” Young said. “My goal is to really craft my game around what we need as a team, whatever Coach [Bill] O’Brien or Coach Saban wants me to do, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m someone who tries to work hard on and off the field and really I want to do whatever it is that’s best for the team.”
Those efforts haven’t gone unnoticed by his teammates.
“He’s becoming a better leader, I think, and just trying to connect and build the chemistry with the receivers, and also the O-line and the running backs, the tight ends,” receiver Slade Bolden said earlier this week. “Just like what I talked about earlier, it’s those things it takes time to grow in, and I feel like since freshman year he’s done a lot better job with maturity, being a better leader and also chemistry with the offense.”
Young and Alabama will hit the practice field again on Thursday and Friday before moving inside Bryant-Denny Stadium for the team’s second fall scrimmage on Saturday. The Crimson Tide will kick off its season on Sept. 4 as it takes on Miami inside of Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Young fully expects his name to remain in the headlines until then and beyond. He just knows it’s nothing he can’t handle.
"Really those distractions, whatever they may be, they’re always going to be there,” Young said. “Really the culture that we have is something that’s really strong, and I’m glad to be a part of it and it really just keeps us focused on what we need to be focused on.”
