Bryce Young Set to Fill Big Shoes

The quarterback position in Alabama football used to be the epitome of "game managers." Players like Greg McElroy, AJ McCarron, and Jake Coker have been the signal callers of national championship squads. But, as the program has grown into this never-before-seen dynasty, high profile superstar quarterbacks have made the Capstone their landing place. Bryce Young is the newest of this variety, and he will have his opportunity to lead the Crimson Tide this fall.

It began with Jalen Hurts, as he was a 4-star coming out of high school and started his freshman year. Hurts was 25-2 as a starting quarterback for Alabama, and he lead the team to an SEC championship in 2016. Hurts drove down and put Alabama ahead in the 2016 national championship with a 30-yard touchdown run, but Deshaun Watson lead Clemson on a championship winning drive, making people forget about Hurts's heroics. He stayed with the team after being benched in the 2017 national championship win, and he won another SEC title in 2018 thanks to another heroic scamper.

The next star slinger, obviously, was Tua Tagovailoa. Tagovailoa burst onto the scene with his stellar second half championship performance that provided the spark Alabama needed to overcome Georgia. Before that moment, Tagovailoa had been one of the most talked about back-up quarterbacks of all time because of his unbelievable talent. He was a 5-star, and he lived up to his status at Alabama when the injury bug stayed away.

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Next was Mac Jones, who was not nearly the high profile recruit that Hurts and Tagovailoa were. Jones worked and waited for his moment, and he exceeded any expectation that there was of him coming into the program. He was a 3-star, and he could have gone elsewhere and started earlier in his career. But, he came to Alabama and there is no doubt that he is a better player for it after leading the Crimson Tide to a perfect national championship season.

All three were Heisman finalists (Hurts was at Oklahoma), and Tagovailoa and Jones were first round draft picks with Hurts going in the second round. They all had elite receiver and running back groups, which have been the standard at Alabama for some time now.

Bryce Young is the guy going into his sophomore year. He was a 5-star recruit and the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in his class, but none of that matters now. He will have running backs galore behind him, an experienced offensive line in front, and the receiving group is shaping up to be full of playmakers. Young has all the talent in the world, and it will be interesting to see how he fills the big shoes of being the quarterback at the University of Alabama.