Only three quarterbacks in SEC history have been responsible for more touchdowns in one season than Bryce Young’s 50 for Alabama in 2021.
LSU’s Joe Burrow totaled 65 (60 passing, five rushing) in 2019, while Florida’s Tim Tebow racked up 55 (32 passing, 23 rushing) in 2007 and Auburn’s Cam Newton posted 51 (30 passing, 20 rushing, one receiving) in 2010. LSU’s Jayden Daniels equaled Young’s 50 in 2023.
All five won the Heisman Trophy. Young is in very good company indeed.
Young was a five-star recruit out of California powerhouse Mater Dei High School in 2020, and backed up Mac Jones on Alabama’s national championship team as a freshman. Despite his being undersized at 5-foot-10, Alabama head coach Saban had set high expectations about Young’s potential on the day he signed with the Crimson Tide.
“I just absolutely love the guy,” Saban said Dec. 19, 2019. “His character. He’s got a great family. He’s got all the right stuff. And I think that’s really important in the quarterback position. You’ve heard me say this many times before, if you play quarterback, it’s hard to play the position if the people around you don’t play well, so having great leadership qualities can contribute to that. I think Bryce certainly possesses those qualities.”
When Jones left for the NFL following the 2020 season, Young took over as the starter. From Day 1, he unleashed his talents on the SEC and the college football world in general.
Young passed for 344 yards and four touchdowns in a season-opening rout of Miami, then added three touchdowns in each of the next two weeks, wins over Mercer and Florida. He completed 20 of 22 passes for 313 yards and five touchdowns in a Week 4 vs. Southern Miss, giving him 15 touchdown passes and just one interception through a third of the regular season.
Other season highlights were a four-touchdown (two passing, two rushing) performance in a 52-24 win over Tennessee in late October, then five touchdown passes in back-to-back weeks vs. New Mexico State and Arkansas in November. He passed for 559 yards in the latter game, breaking Scott Hunter’s program record of 484 that had stood for 52 years.
Young struggled a bit at Auburn on Nov. 27, but led a last-minute touchdown drive to tie the game and then threw the game-winning two-point pass to John Metchie in the fourth overtime for a 24-22 victory. After throwing for 421 yards and totaling four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing) vs. Georgia in the SEC championship game, he easily outpointed the field for the Heisman, collecting 684 of a possible 875 first-place votes — 78% overall and 606 more than second-place finisher Aidan Hutchinson of Michigan.
“I’ve always been labeled as someone who’s not the prototype, being an African-American quarterback and being ‘undersized’ and not being that prototype, I’ve always been ruled out and counted out,” Young said after winning the Heisman. “People a lot of times have told me that I wasn’t going to be able to make it. And for me, it’s always been about, not really proving them wrong but proving to myself what I can accomplish.
“I’ve always pushed myself to work the hardest and I try my best to do all I can to maximize all that I can do. And thanks to the people around me and through the grace of God, I’ve been able to make it here, and I’m truly grateful for that.”
Young was the last in a quartet of first-team All-America quarterbacks at Alabama under Saban, a list that also included AJ McCarron, Tua Tagovailoa and Jones. Prior to McCarron in 2013, the Crimson Tide hadn’t had a quarterback selected first-team All-American since Ken Stabler in 1967.
He was also the last of four Heisman winners under Saban, following running backs Mark Ingram (2009) and Derrick Henry (2015) and wide receiver DeVonta Smith (2020). Alabama had never had a Heisman recipient before Saban arrived, with no Crimson Tide quarterback finishing higher than fifth in the balloting.
Young and the Crimson Tide ultimately fell short of a national championship in 2021, beating Cincinnati in the semifinal round before falling in a rematch with Georgia in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. He had an excellent — but not quite as good — 2022 season, passing for 3,328 yards and 32 touchdowns (plus four more rushing) while battling injuries as Alabama finished 11-2 and failed to make the playoff.
Young gave up his final year of eligibility to enter the 2023 NFL draft. In the lead-up to the draft, Saban famously compared him to a “point guard in basketball.”
“He’s got eyes all over,” Saban told ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith for his podcast in March 2023. “He knows where everybody is. He can extend plays. He creates throwing lanes for himself, which is important for a guy at his size. He can make all the throws. He’s smart. So, he has a lot of the attributes — from a psychological disposition standpoint — that are necessary to excel at this position.”
That spring, Young again made history as Alabama’s first No. 1 overall NFL draft pick since Harry Gilmer in 1948. He’s had some rocky moments in his first two seasons with the Carolina Panthers, but won his job back after being benched in 2024 — no doubt using the strength of what Saban called his “psychological disposition” to do so.
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