We're Already Seeing A Different Bryce Young This Season

Just A Minute: The reigning Heisman Trophy winner didn't look like the same quarterback in the season opener, and not just because he scored six touchdowns.

It was the same No. 9 jersey, with the same crimson helmet and familiar name across the back last week.

And the result was pretty much the same as well, a 55-0 victory against Utah State, with Bryce Young on the sideline watching for most of the second half.

But it wasn't the same Young as a year ago. He's different, and that's a good thing for Alabama. 

Young was 20 years old when he won the Heisman Trophy. 

Think about that for a moment. What were you doing as a 20-year-old? 

He was more than halfway across the country from California home, leading Nick Saban's team to the national championship game during his first year as a starter for the Crimson Tide. In the process, he became the first quarterback in Alabama history to win the Heisman, and did so as a sophomore. 

It wasn't like Young was perfect, either, far from it. While still getting everything down he completed 66.9 percent of his passes, and his passer efficiency rating of 167.5 was nowhere near the 203.1 posted by his predecessor the previous season. 

Combined with the title-game loss after both of his starting wide receivers suffered knee injuries, no one had to tell Young that there was still room for improvement. 

So he went back to work during the offseason, getting familiar with a whole new slate of playmakers as five of his top six receivers from 2021 were no longer with the team. Also gone were his starting running back and left tackle, who are now making headlines in the NFL.

Yet there was Young in the season opener, jumping around and trying out new celebrations. When ESPN wasn't zeroed in on him at Bryant-Denny Stadium, he was still TV screens during the breaks.

With numerous NIL deals in his back pocket, he was alongside DeVonta Smith and Derrick Henry in the Heisman House, or moving into his new room in Fansville. 

Catch me causing chaos in the new Fansville by @drpepper episode out now. #TeamBryce pic.twitter.com/DHDeiZT6yZ

— Bryce Young (@_bryce_young) September 8, 2022

Young's having fun, and with good reason, and not just because he's landed deals with Fanatics, Cash App, Onyx, Dollar Shave Club and BMW ... hey wait, he didn't sign with Mercedes? 

Yet he still seems focussed on the task at hand. With six touchdowns including the one he walked across the goal-line, Young had a great start to the season. 

Although he didn't attempt anywhere near the same amount of passes, his efficiency rating was almost the exact same as last year's opener. 

• 2021 Miami 27-38-0, 71.1 percent, 344 yards, 4 TDs, 181.8 rating 
• 2022 Utah St. 18-28-0, 64.3 percent, 195 yards, 5 TDs, 181.7 rating 

Utah State threw a lot of different different looks at Young, and numerous blitzes and never really got to him except for the targeting penalty. A couple of times he didn't call the correct protection, or he made the wrong decision on his throws. 

But that's not surprising when Young had such a different cast around him, and his one proven returning pass catcher, in tight end Cameron Latu, was out with an injury. 

Some of the timing things are going to take exactly that, time, to come together.

However, there were three things outside of the stats and final score to take note of, and they all go hand-in-hand: 

1) Young is no longer trying to learn the offense.

The difference between a player going through everything the first time as a starter, and the second, is huge. Specific to this situation, he's also working with the same offensive coordinator, Bill O'Brien.

"He’s going into his third year in this offense," O'Brien said.
"So hopefully you’ll see improvement just in knowledge of scheme and how to use that scheme against the different defenses we’re going to see. 

"But Bryce is always looking to improve. Every single day he comes in there. He’s somebody that goes out to the practice field and is really striving for perfection every day and that’s a great guy to coach."

2) He's a lot more confident. 

Young knows the offense inside and out. He's not just making plays, but understanding the calls and why they're being made. It's a big part in the difference between a player leading statistically and a leader. 

"I think anytime a player has a year under his belt, he's gonna feel more comfortable," Saban said. "I think he's really comfortable in setting the protections, understanding what the defense is gonna do."

3) He's smiling ... a lot. 

From directing everything on the field, to just being around his teammates, Young's body language is completely different. About the only thing the same are his straightforward answers during press conferences. 

The video of him celebrating and immediately altering his demeanor to talk to his coach may have been the best example of the change.

Could you have seen Young doing that a year ago? No.

Bryce Young went from celly to Saban real quick 😂 pic.twitter.com/Ve3Z9dZOM0

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) September 4, 2022

This week at Texas, where Alabama hasn't played in 100 years, the storylines are vast and numerous. They include Saban being the man who "saved" Steve Sarkisian's career (which the former Crimson Tide offensive coordinator has said numerous times), Alabama being just the third team ranked No. 1 to visit Austin (Ohio State in 2006 and SMU in 1950), and the Longhorns getting ready to join the SEC. 

But if Young adjusts and handles everything like he can, we won't just be seeing just a 21-year-old continuing to come into his own, but the next level of the the reigning Heisman winner. 

Christopher Walsh's commentary Just A Minute appears every week on BamaCentral.