The wait for Alabama football will soon be over as the Crimson Tide announced it will begin its fall camp on Aug. 6. The Tide will hold 23 practices as well as two closed scrimmages as it gears up for its season-opener against Miami on Sept. 4 inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The next month will be pivotal in determining how Alabama lines up this season. Before the Tide breaks for camp, BamaInsider will examine each position group by taking a look at two key storylines. Today we begin the series with the quarterbacks.
How different will Alabama’s offense look with Bryce Young behind center?
Alabama will have a new quarterback behind center, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to have a completely different offense.
It isn’t hard to spot the differences between Bryce Young and Mac Jones. For one, Young’s 6-foot, 194-pound frame is quite a bit smaller than his 6-foot-3, 217-pound predecessor’s. Naturally, that means the sophomore is a bit lighter on his feet as well.
The term “dual-threat” is commonly used when describing Young’s game. The former five-star recruit came to Alabama as the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the 2020 class. He flashed his ability to extend plays with his legs a few times last season, most notably against Kentucky when he eluded a defender before rolling out to his right for an 18-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith.
That escapability will certainly come in handy for Alabama this season, especially as it breaks in a new offensive line. However, the threat Young figures to use more often is his arm. During his four-year high school career, the five-star talent amassed 1,084 yards and 26 touchdowns on the ground. While impressive, those stats paled in comparison to his passing totals over that span as he accounted for 13,250 yards and 152 scores through the air.
Young is almost guaranteed to provide more production on the ground than the 14 rushing yards Jones totaled last season. Although, anyone expecting anything close to the 954 rushing yards Jalen Hurts recorded during his freshman season in 2016 will likely be in for a surprise.
It still makes sense for first-year offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien to utilize Young’s dual-threat ability with run-pass options this season. After all, the former Houston Texans head coach leaned on that play a good bit when breaking in Deshaun Watson during his rookie season in 2017. However, the bulk of Young’s yardage off of RPOs figures to come from his ability to deliver quick, accurate passes to his receivers.
While his playing style might differ from Jones, Young features the same touch on his passes that allowed the first-round draft pick to succeed in Alabama’s spread attack. The Tide might insert a few wrinkles to its offense to better highlight its new starter’s skill set, but don’t expect vast changes to the scheme that rewrote the record books last season.
Who steps up if Young goes down to injury?
This is the question that has been asked the most by Alabama fans this offseason. While Young locked up the starting role this spring, the battle between redshirt sophomore Paul Tyson and true freshman Jalen Milroe for the backup role could intensify throughout the year.
The thought among those close to the program is that Tyson is currently the clear No. 2 in Alabama’s pecking order. The Trussville, Ala. native is entering his third year with the program and knows the Tide’s offense far better than Milroe, who enrolled early in January. That being said, Milroe made significant strides this spring and could offer more playmaking ability at the position moving forward.
Tyson offers plenty of the traits that made Jones successful last season. The 6-foot-5, 228-pound pocket passer has a strong arm and is a sound decision-maker. Earlier this spring, Nick Saban spoke highly of Tyson’s development, stating that he has made a “tremendous amount of improvement” this offseason.
Milroe brings an exciting amount of potential to the position. Sources close to the program told BamaInsider that the 6-foot-2, 201-pounder is regarded as one of the fastest players on the team.
While Milroe still needs to develop as a passer, his skill set is more aligned with Young than Tyson. That could come into play in the event that Young is forced to miss time late in the season, especially if Alabama adapts its offense to more dual-threat possibilities. Of course, that scenario would also depend on how quickly Milroe picks up the offense.
