The quarterbacks who served as Alabama’s starter from the 2016 through the 2022 seasons will lead NFL offenses on Sunday, with two lining up as opponents when Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers square off against Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Hurts and Young did not overlap at Alabama, with Young serving as the Tide’s starter in 2021 and 2022 after Hurts held that spot in 2016 and 2017. But Young said Hurts played a part in making Alabama his college choice.
“Definitely the quarterback culture that they built at Bama,” Young said. “I mean, there were obviously really good quarterbacks that were there before that, but just me growing up, those being the guys that I saw when I was closer to making a decision and a more conscious football fan. Yeah, the culture that they built or that they kind of just upheld and, especially was there when I got there, that was definitely a big reason. Them being the people they were, especially with just how the offense had changed when they got there. Yeah, 100 percent a big reason why I went there.”
Hurts said he’s looking forward to meeting Young at Sunday’s game.
“I’ve spent some time with his family,” Hurts said, “and I’ve met everyone but him, so this will be my first time meeting him in person. I wish him nothing but the best. I know he’s a great competitor. Had a great career at Alabama, and he’s got a great opportunity in front of him now. He’s playing really well now.”
Young said he heard a lot of good things about Hurts while at Alabama.
“I have nothing but respect for him as a player, from watching film, and as a person, for sure,” Young said. “Also just being at Bama, a lot of people that I was teammates with or worked there that were there while he was there all have so many great stories about just him as a player, him as a person, just the mark he left at Alabama, so yeah, that whole culture was a big reason why I went there, and I definitely have a ton of respect for him.”
The Eagles and Panthers will square off at noon CST Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
At the same time, Tua Tagovailoa will lead the Miami Dolphins against the New York Jets, and Mac Jones will be at the helm of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ offense against the Tennessee Titans.
Tagovailoa served as the Crimson Tide’s quarterback in the 2018 and 2019 season. Jones was QB 1 for Alabama immediately before Young.
Young accomplished something his predecessors did not. He won the Heisman Trophy in 2021. Tagovailoa finished as the runner-up in the Heisman voting in 2018, Hurts finished second in 2019 (in his only season at Oklahoma) and Jones placed third in 2020.
