Three weeks ago, with two minutes to go in the Iron Bowl, Alabama’s season looked to be dead in the water.
With just six points to show through nearly 60 minutes of action, the Crimson Tide had shown little evidence of being able to put together any sort of drive. But then Bryce Young happened and 97-yards later Alabama’s seasonal outlook completely changed and so did his Heisman Trophy trajectory.
Throw in another signature performance in the SEC Championship Game against the No. 1 Georgia and Young is the heavy favorite to hoist college football’s most prestigious prize come Saturday night.
Much like every win this season, Young’s opportunity to lead Alabama has been well earned while showing an uncommon display of patience compared to today’s college football players, despite being one of the top quarterbacks in his recruiting class. During his first year in Tuscaloosa, Young sat behind Heisman Trophy finalist and first-round pick Mac Jones, who led Alabama to a national championship win in 2020.
Rather than simply waiting for his turn, Young took advantage of the opportunity to learn from Jones and how he led the Crimson Tide.
“I’ve learned a lot from Mac,” Young said to the media on Friday. “Being a freshman, new to college, Mac being there and being such an experienced, veteran leader, having the amazing season like he did, for that being my intro to college football, I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to the sport.
“For him to have all the success that he did and the team to have all the success that they did last year, for me to be able to sit back and get a front-row seat to what it took behind the scenes, to see all the preparation, all the hard work, the attitude and leadership that that group had, that Mac had, for me to understand the standard that we set at the university, ut helped me develop tremendously.”
Young’s season has been well worth the wait for Alabama fans as the offense hasn’t missed a step in terms of quarterback play. Through 13 games Young has thrown for 4,322 yards, 43 touchdowns and has completed 68 percent of his passes.
The numbers have been stellar, but there have been a few close calls along the way. Unlike 2020, Alabama has four one-possession wins this season where the offense has been pushed to the edge where converting on a third-down felt as relieving as a touchdown.
In the hardest conference in the sport along with a first-year starter at quarterback, it’s almost impressive for the Crimson Tide to have only come away with one loss. But Young and the team benefit from the sport’s greatest advantage.
Having Nick Saban as a head coach.
With Saban patrolling the sidelines and practice field, he’s created the ultimate safety net and library of knowledge for Young to utilize and aid his development.
“Being under Coach Saban and learning from him, that’s someone who’s the greatest coach to do it,” Young said. “He’s seen everything, been in every situation, understands everything. Whether it’s him calling you into his office and talking about how you carry yourself or talking Xs and Os on the field about little tips about coverage things, protection things.
“He’s someone who is super wise, has all the knowledge in the world. Any time I can pick his brain any time he wants to give me a tip or give me a pointer, whether it may be him pulling me aside on the sideline and talking about anything. Just me being able to hang onto everything he says is super beneficial for me. For me to be able to be around the people I have has been huge for my development.”
The knowledge Young has gained over the past 365 days has put him in a position to make history Saturday night as he looks to become the first quarterback in Alabama’s storied history to win the Heisman Trophy. So far the experience has been humbling for the California native as he’s being recognized as one of the four best players in the sport.
But for Young, the ultimate goal isn’t to make history tonight. It’s to continue the legacy of the Alabama greats before him and that’s to lead his team to a national championship.
“To me, it was all about winning and all about doing whatever was best for the team,” Young said. “Honestly, I will say that is one of the big reasons why I went to Alabama and one of the big reasons why Alabama was the best choice for me was I knew I would never have to think or worry about individual accolades or individual awards or whatever.
“All I had to do was what I originally wanted to and always have been doing — just thinking about the team and trying to win. And at a place like Alabama, when you get to play against the best and compete with the best, individual stuff kind of comes on its own. It’s not something you have to focus on.
“Being here is a huge honor, a huge blessing. It means a lot to me. But at the end of the day, the ultimate goal for me is for us to reach our ultimate goal, and that is to keep winning.”
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
