Alabama’s well-oiled recruiting machine continued to roll as the Crimson Tide landed the nation’s No. 3 class — it’s 12th top-five class in the past 13 years. Alabama's recent haul is comprised of 25 members, including four five-stars, 10 players ranked inside the Rivals100 and 18 players ranked inside the Rivals250. The Crimson Tide also led the nation with a 4.0 star average.
Alabama’s 2019 class proved fruitful as eight members earned starts. Of that group, offensive lineman Evan Neal and linebackers Shane Lee and Christian Harris earned SEC All-Freshman team honors from the conference.
Today, we’ll examine the players in this year’s class who could make a similar instant impact for the Crimson Tide this season.
Bryce Young, five-star quarterback
Bryce Young is the crown jewel of this year’s class, coming to Tuscaloosa, Ala., as the nation’s No. 1 quarterback and No. 2 player overall. The 6-foot, 180-pound dual-threat passer has drawn comparisons to former Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray and should compete with Mac Jones for the starting role this spring.
During his senior season at California’s Mater Dei High School, Young completed 72.6 percent of his passes for 4,528 yards and 58 touchdowns with six interceptions while adding another 357 yards and 10 more scores on the ground. Whether or not that dynamism will translate to the next level right away will be something to watch over the coming months.
Young needs to look no further than 2016 when Jalen Hurts earned the starting quarterback role as a true freshman. However, Hurts didn’t have a competitor as capable as Jones in front of him. Young will likely need a near-perfect offseason to usurp the starting role from Jones. Even if Young doesn’t win the job initially, Alabama could still draw up some packages for the speedy freshman.
BamaInsider senior recruiting analyst Andrew Bone: Young will enter spring practice with a ton of hype and rightfully so. He was ranked the No.1 quarterback in the 2020 class. He will make a very strong push in becoming QB1 at Alabama this fall. Young is excellent in the pocket and is an efficient passer. He shows tremendous leadership skills and can completely take over a game. The best pro comparison for Young is Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.
