Spotlight Unavoidable for Bryce Young at Heisman Ceremony
He never likes to talk about himself. Anytime attention is brought towards Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, he always tries to deflect the praise to someone else— his teammates, his coaches, his parents or his faith.
But on Saturday night, the eyes of the college football world will be on Young as he has the chance to become the first quarterback in Crimson Tide history to win the Heisman Trophy.
"Obviously it would be a huge blessing to follow the great quarterbacks that we've had and to have this opportunity, it's a huge blessing," Young said. "It's something I don't take for granted. But I also understand the reason behind it and that's us as a unit, us as a team. It's not just me. It takes all my teammates, it takes the coaches, it takes this environment."
Once again, diverting the attention to others. Even with the help of his teammates, and make no mistake that he is surrounded by super talented players, Young has done enough on his own to put him in the conversation for the greatest individual honor in college football.
In a year where there was no clear cut Heisman winner for the majority of the season, Young delivered Heisman-level performances three games in a row at the most critical time of the year.
First, against Arkansas, he set the Alabama single game record for passing yards in a game with 559 yards and also added five touchdowns. With the win over the Razorbacks, Alabama clinched the SEC West in a year that Nick Saban called a "very difficult" year to play in the West.
Up next, with a spot in Atlanta already clinched, the true sophomore quarterback had to lead his offense in a place that has been a house of horrors for Alabama football over the last few years: Jordan-Hare Stadium.
It looked like that trend was going to continue until Young led Alabama on a 12-play, 97-yard drive to tie the game with 24 seconds left on a touchdown pass to freshman receiver Ja'Corey Brooks that will go down in Crimson Tide history. Four overtimes later, Young and Co. salvaged an Iron Bowl victory on the Plains and headed to Atlanta to face No. 1 Georgia fresh off a resilient victory.
Young showed no signs of fear facing the top defense in the country as he threw for 421 yards and three touchdowns with another touchdown on the ground in Alabama's 41-24 SEC Championship win over the Bulldogs.
"Bryce has played well for us all year long," Saban said. "I think he's made some incredible plays down the stretch here on our last couple games that you know certainly enhanced our chances of being successful in the game.”
Was that final three game stretch, plus his entire body of work, enough for the Heisman voters? We'll find out on Saturday night, but the odds are in Young's favor according to Vegas oddsmakers.
So how did he get to this point? How, as a true sophomore, did he step into the big shoes of Mac Jones and Tua Tagovailoa, and throw for over 4,000 yards and 40+ touchdowns in his first year as a starter?
"I think it comes through experience," Young said. "When you start playing athletics, you have to feel everything out, feel your process out. For me, I've kind of realized just how I operate the best and function the best is typically from a more calm state of mind. So for me, it's just being in that mindset as much as I can just to try to maximize my efficiency and do what's best for the team."
Even when facing intense crowd noise, like in the Swamp or from the 12th Man, Young maintained composure. Even after getting sacked seven times, he still stands in the pocket. Even when facing a double-digit deficit, it seems to be no problem for the ever calm, cool and collected Young.
He often credits his faith and his family for the composure that allows him to maintain his cool in the type of intense situations that an Alabama quarterback faces.
The ballots have already been cast and the winner is technically already determined, but Young will be going up against two quarterbacks, Pitt's Kenny Pickett and Ohio State's CJ Stroud, and Michigan defensive back Aiden Hutchinson for the award. Young has more yards and touchdowns than Pickett and Stroud, but Stroud has the highest passer rating.
Heisman Quarterback Finalists Stat Comparison
- Kenny Pickett- Pitt, Senior
- 334-497, 67.2% for 4,319 yards
- 42 touchdowns
- Seven interceptions
- 165.3 passer rating
- 81.5 QBR
- CJ Stroud- Ohio State, Freshman
- 280-395, 70.9% for 3,862 yards
- 38 touchdowns
- Five interceptions
- 182.2 passer rating
- 89.9 QBR
- Bryce Young- Alabama, Sophomore
- 314-462, 68% for 4,322 yards
- 43 touchdowns
- Four interceptions
- 175.6 passer rating
- 88.9 QBR
If Young does come away with the award over Hutchinson, Pickett and Stroud on Saturday night, he will be forced to stand in one of the things he dislikes the most, yet has earned with his outstanding performance: the spotlight.
