When Anne Donahue steps to the lectern on Saturday night to announce the winner of the 2021 Heisman Trophy, the odds indicate that the name she will say is that of Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. The true sophomore stepped into the starting spot vacated by Mac Jones and started hot, throwing for four touchdowns in Alabama’s season-opening victory over Miami. He finished the year having completed 68% of his passes for 4,322 yards and 43 touchdowns, against just four interceptions.
And as the odds indicate, he is the prohibitive favorite to hear his name announced Saturday night.
How did we get here?
Given the season that Jones had a year ago, where he led the Crimson Tide to a national title and played himself into a top-fifteen selection in the first round of the NFL draft, Young was stepping into some huge shoes. But given that Alabama does not rebuild, they reload, Young was under pressure to deliver immediately. And he did, having a huge outing against the Hurricanes in the first game of the season that impressed his coach, Nick Saban. Not just in terms of the production, but how he handled all aspects of playing the position:
I think Bryce did really, really well. He’s smart. Most people just look at the stats and say he was whatever he was for whatever he was for this many yards. But he redirects the protection. He plays like a veteran out there. We had the one sack-fumble, which is something that we don’t really want to have but really not all his fault that he doesn’t get protected. But I was really impressed with the way he played in the game. The poise that he played with, the command that he had.
He kind of took what the defense gave him and really directed the offense in a really positive way. When we had opportunities to make plays on third down and a couple other explosive plays, he certainly did a great job at getting the ball to the right guy in the right time in the right place. I was really pleased.
You can see Saban’s thoughts about Young at the line of scrimmage on this early completion to John Metchie III. Prior to the snap Miami shows pressure up front, and you’ll see Young active at the line before throwing a comeback on the right side to move the chains on third down:
Young notched his first start against an SEC opponent back in September, when the Crimson Tide traveled to The Swamp to take on Florida. Young was crisp on that fall afternoon, completing 22 of 35 passes against the Gators for 240 yards and three touchdowns, without an interception. After the game Saban had praise for his young quarterback, but also some healthy criticism after his young passer navigated his first SEC start on the road:
Well, he did a good job but I almost [a]bout had a heart attack a couple of times when the shot clock’s down to one. But he did do a great job. He managed the game well. One of the things that was an issue for us — we like to go on clap and the center couldn’t hear the clap; so we had to go on silent. When we went on silent, we got a couple of penalties because we weren’t all on the same page. It’s what happened on the one-yard line with all the noise. But for the most part, guys did a pretty good job.
One of Young’s best throws of the day, and a play that illustrated his poise when throwing from the pocket, was this touchdown to tight end Jahleel Billingsley, who runs a wheel route on the left side of the field:
Florida manages to spring a free rusher at Young on the interior, but the quarterback hangs in the pocket and is able to hit the tight end working down the left sideline on the wheel route for six.
The low point of Alabama’s season came in a loss at Texas A&M back in early October. Even though he threw an interception in the defeat, Young was not the main reason why the Crimson Tide lost in a stunner to the Aggies. The QB completed 28 of 48 passes for 369 yards and three touchdowns, along with the turnover. But to hear his coach, it was still a strong performance:
We didn’t run a very good route on the one [interception] that he threw. But I thought he stayed focused, didn’t get upset, and played well in the game under the circumstances. I think we handled the noise better. I think his reads were pretty good for the most part. Nobody’s perfect when it comes to accuracy, but I thought he did a pretty good job in that regard. I thought he kept his poise and really stayed focused on the next play. I didn’t think that affected him.
Even in the loss, Young’s poise and development were evident on film. Take this third-down conversion from midway through the fourth quarter:
Once again, you see Young active in the pre-snap phase of the play. Texas A&M shows an overload pressure on the left side, so in response Young and the offense call for a four-man slide to the left, with the right guard and center sliding in the direction of the left guard and left tackle.
That gives Young a solid pocket, and he throws a rope on an in-breaking route to move the chains in a critical third-down situation.
Yet, Young and the Crimson Tide still lost, and there were rumblings that perhaps this was not Saban’s best Alabama team, and that the Crimson Tide might find themselves on the outside looking in come playoff time.
Young would throw only one more interception all season, and the team would not lose again.
There were still some close calls along the way, as the Crimson Tide survived with a six-point win at home against LSU and would need overtime to outlast Auburn in the Iron Bowl. But down the stretch Young started playing some of his best football. Against Arkansas prior to Thanksgiving, Young completed 31 of 40 passes for 559 yards and five touchdowns, setting an Alabama record for single-game passing yardage along the way. After the victory, Saban was ready with the praise. “But the guy had a fantastic game, I think, and really did a good job of sort of taking what they give. He’s accurate with the ball.”
On a day where Young delivered a number of big plays, this long scoring strike late in the second quarter stands out:
Jameson Williams — a talented wideout who has played himself into the first round of the upcoming draft — works behind the defense and Young uncorks a beauty of a throw, dropping it perfectly into the bucket for a 79-yard scoring play, the bulk of which came through the air.
Every Heisman candidacy needs a “Heisman Moment.”
For quarterback Kenny Pickett it might have been his fake slide touchdown run against Wake Forest in the ACC Championship game. For Michigan pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson it might have been his early sack of C.J. Stroud with the Ohio State Buckeyes deep in Wolverines’ territory in the first quarter of their rivalry matchup. For Stroud, it might have been one of the six touchdowns he threw in a huge win over Michigan State.
Young’s Heisman Moment might have been an entire game, the SEC Championship against Georgia. After all, the Bulldogs entered play sporting one of the most imposing defenses in the country. Only Tennessee had managed to score more than 15 points against Georgia this season, prior to the SEC Championship. Furthermore, until that point in the season teams averaged just 6.9 points per game against Georgia.
Young and company hung 34 offensive points on the Bulldogs. as Alabama won 41-24. The Crimson Tide added another touchdown on a Pick Six from Jordan Battle. In the victory, Young completed 26 of 44 passes for 421 yards and three touchdowns.
The first scoring strike came on this throw to Williams, as the Crimson Tide take advantage of a breakdown in the secondary:
Young’s second touchdown came on this throw to John Metchie III. You’ll see the quarterback work to the left side of the field with his first two reads, before coming to his right to pick up Metchie. Not only does Young direct traffic, indicating for Metchie to break to the outside, but he puts this throw in a perfect spot, highlighting the accuracy that Saban discussed earlier in the year:
But in terms of pure “Heisman Moments,” could a pitch in the open field be Young’s? A play that helped set up the touchdown throw to Metchie was this bit of improvisation from earlier in the drive:
After the victory, Saban kept his praise for Young succinct. “He played great tonight. He’s played great for us all year long.”
Which is likely the reason he hoists some hardware Saturday night.
Awards season in college football culminates with the Heisman Trophy. But Young has already secured some hardware, having earned the Davey O’Brien Award (given to the best quarterback in the NCAA) and the Maxwell Award (given to the college football player of the year). Given that Maxwell Award winners tend to go on and hold the Heisman aloft, you can understand why the odds are in Young’s favor.
But the numbers, and the film, are also big reasons why.
Only time will tell if this season ends with Young holding another trophy aloft in early January.