The hot takes have arrived for college football.
After watching Mac Jones record an incredible season at Alabama, Bryce Young will take over as a first-year starter at quarterback. He performed well in spring practice and was the Most Valuable Player of the A-Day game, posting 333 passing yards with one touchdown. Young, a California native, had a tremendous high school career; however, will he generate success at the collegiate level? This is the question that Tide fans and national reporters cannot wait to find out on the former five-star.
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According to Anthony Treash of Pro Football Focus, Young is under the most pressure this season.
Can Bryce Young take Alabama back-to-back?🏆
The pressure is on… pic.twitter.com/r45kPDwhSt
— PFF College (@PFF_College) August 12, 2021
Jones led the Crimson Tide to an undefeated national championship in 2020. Alabama is trying to win back-to-back titles for the first time since the 2011 and 2012 seasons. The 6-foot, 194-pounder has special abilities at the position, but he is truly under the most pressure? Nick Saban is not asking Young to be prolific. He wants the sophomore to keep Alabama in a position to win games and return to the College Football Playoff.
Also, he will have running backs and receivers to ease the pressure off him. Despite him making near $1 million in NIL deals, names such as Spencer Rattler and J.T. Daniels are under more pressure than Young.
Oklahoma has not fared well in the CFP under Lincoln Riley, and Rattler has to change that.
Georgia has not won a national championship since 1980; nevertheless, Bulldog fans are confident in Daniels. Alabama fans are not asking a lot from Young. As long as he protects the ball, makes plays, and keeps the Tide in the win column for a national title, there is no pressure on him.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
