Heisman Hangover? Not for Alabama's Bryce Young

Young made a strong case on Saturday night as to why he could potentially be just the second player in college football history to win back-to-back Heisman Trophies.

Joey Blackwell | Sep 4, 2022

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Alabama Crimson Tide

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — On Saturday night, 2021 Heisman Trophy-winner Bryce Young took to the field for the first time this season.

If anyone was afraid that the Alabama quarterback would suffer from a 'Heisman hangover' of sorts, their fears were quickly subsided.

Young didn't appear to have skipped a beat from last season when playing against the Utah State Aggies inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. In fact, the Crimson Tide starting quarterback almost looked even better than he did in 2021.

On the night, Young completed 18 of 28 passes for 195 yards and five touchdowns. He finished the game with a completion percentage of 64 percent and a quarterback rating of 181.7.

His presence in the air wasn't his only feat of the evening. On the ground, Young rushed for 100 yards on five attempts and recorded one rushing touchdown, giving him a grand total of six touchdowns on the night.

Oh, and all of these stats came prior to the 12:12 mark of the third quarter, when Young bowed out of the game and second-string quarterback Jalen Milroe took over under center.

"Bryce did a really good job in the game," Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban said after the game. "I think if you asked Bryce, he would tell you that he missed a couple of things in terms of reading guys where he might've had his read. But you know, I thought he played really, really well. He managed the game really, really well.

"I thought he played really, really well. He's prepared well, his leadership has been phenomenal in terms of how he's helped other players around him grow and develop, so we can't be more pleased with his performance."

Former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa set the Crimson Tide program record for most combined touchdowns in a game when he scored seven back in 2019 against Ole Miss. In the game, Tagovailoa threw six passing touchdowns and rushed for one more.

With Young's five passing touchdowns and one rushing, he finished just one short of Tagovailoa's record. However, he did record his fourth five-passing-touchdown performance of his career, tying Tagovailoa for the most in Alabama program history.

Young's passing distribution was also fairly spread out, even when it came to his touchdown passes. Two wide receiver in Jermaine Burton and Traeshon Holden each recorded two touchdown receptions, and running back Jase McClellan was on the receiving end of Young's fifth touchdown pass. Young also completed passes to a total of seven receivers and targeted nine.

"It was great getting a few different targets in the end zone — it was really cool," Young said. "And then just the role that everyone played — even when it's stuff that's away from the ball [and] even if the ball doesn't end up in their hands, everyone plays a role on offense. All the receivers pitched in, they all did a great job in the run game, the pass game — with everything.

"So I'm super, super happy. I was excited for the first time with this new group being on the field and, you know, there's still stuff we got to improve on, stuff we gotta work on so once we watch the film, we'll evaluate it and we'll keep going from there."

Prior to Young's 100 yards of rushing against the Aggies, his best performance on the ground 42 yards against Tennessee last season. In fact, Young's 100 yards is the best rushing performance by a quarterback since Jalen Hurts rushed for 101 yards against Ole Miss all the way back in 2017.

Young is just the 11th quarterback in Alabama program history to record triple-digit rushing yards.

Young's first rush of the game came in the second quarter when, on third and 12, he scrambled for 18 yards and a first down. On Alabama's next drive on 1st and 10 at its own 23-yard line, Young broke through the line once again, this time for a 63-yard scramble that saw him get all the way down to the 14-yard line of Utah State.

Later in the second quarter, a 22-yard rush would be his final rush of the first half. His fourth and final carry came in the Crimson Tide's first drive of the second half, which ended in his four-yard touchdown run.

According to Alabama defensive back Brian Branch, Young taking off on the ground is not an abnormal occurrence.

"I see Bryce do that on the regular, so it wasn't really, like, new to me," Branch said. "Just watching him be himself out there is truly amazing, you know? Playing with a Heisman winner — can't describe it. Like, he's a true leader on and off the field. But it's still his first game and he's still got a lot more to go."

Utah State will not be the toughest opponent on the calendar for Alabama this season. However, Young's performance on Saturday night goes much further than simply what he recorded on a stat sheet.

Young played with the poise and confidence of a player that has been in his position for quite some time, not just as a starter in his second season. Young impressed in 2021 for his maturity and calm demeanor despite his youth — two factors that ultimately played a large role in his success and boosted his performance to earn him the Heisman.

Ohio State running back Archie Griffin's back-to-back Heisman Trophies in 1974-75 is still the only time that a player has been able to do so. If Saturday night is anything to judge Young by, though, he certainly started off his 2022 Heisman campaign with a solid case as to why he should be the second.

Oh, and what were Young's thoughts regarding his performance? To no one's surprise, they had everything to do with his team rather than himself.

"I just try to do whatever is best for the team — whatever the defense gives me," Young said. "[...] It's cool, but again just trying to do whatever I can to move the ball and do what's best for the offense so that just happened to be what it was tonight."

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