Will Anderson Jr. earns FWAA Freshman of the Year Award
The adage that freshmen don’t play at Alabama has been disproven time and again. Monday, Crimson Tide outside linebacker Will Anderson earned the Shaun Alexander-FWAA National Freshman Player of the Year Award, while defensive back Malachi Moore was also included in the Football Writers Association of America’s all-freshman team.
A total of 19 true freshmen saw the field for Alabama this past season. While Anderson and Moore took on starting roles, some of the Tide’s other newcomers didn’t see as much time at their respective positions.
With that in mind, today we will examine some of the seldom-used freshmen poised for bigger roles next season. For this exercise, we limited the list to true freshmen who played in fewer than 150 total snaps.
Here are five names you shouldn’t forget about heading into the coming season.
Bryce Young — 114 snaps last season
Let’s get the obvious name out of the way at first. After coming to Alabama as the top quarterback in the 2020 class, Bryce Young took a backseat to Mac Jones’ record-breaking year behind center. With Jones now departed for the NFL, Young is the heavy favorite to take on the starting role behind center for the Tide.
Young didn’t get as much action as he probably expected last season. Over nine appearances, he completed 13 of 22 passes (59.1 percent) for 156 yards and one touchdown without an interception.
It’s worth noting that much of Young’s time on the field occurred when Alabama was attempting to run out the clock late during blowouts. With seldom opportunities to impress, the five-star freshman often held on to the ball too long while looking to make big plays. That resulted in seven sacks and five fumbles. If Young is able to secure the starting job this spring, he should be able to play with more maturity and poise behind center.
As for what Young offers to Alabama’s offense, the dual-threat passer should add another dimension to the Tide’s attack as defenses will now have to account for the plays he can make with his legs. That could be especially valuable for Alabama given its transitioning offensive line and influx of new playmakers on offense.
Jase McClellan — 149 snaps last season
Jase McClellan barely meets the qualifications for this list. While the freshman back played behind Najee Harris and Brian Robinson Jr. last season, he made the most of his limited workload, averaging a team-best 10.65 yards on his 23 carries.
