Nick Saban explains what separates Bryce Young's success from other Alabama quarterbacks

NEW YORK — Nick Saban has produced a number of great quarterbacks since he arrived in Tuscaloosa, with several having gone to the NFL, but Bryce Young will forever be the first Alabama quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy.

For that, Young is different from the rest. But as Saban made clear after his Heisman Trophy victory on Saturday night, there’s more that separates Young from the pack — without him, the 2021 Crimson Tide team, which was inexperienced and in need of a steady presence, may not have had the 12-1, SEC Championship-winning season it did.

“You’re right about one thing: I don’t compare players,” Saban said Saturday night. “I think they were all outstanding players in their own way. I think they all have a little different style in terms of how they had success.”

Young’s success has been a 68 percent completion rate in 2021, good for 4,322 passing yards, 43 touchdowns and just four interceptions, and he’s added three rushing touchdowns to his season total. But his poise came at a time when Alabama needed it most.

“This year’s team was a young team. A lot of the other teams that we’ve had have been older with lots of really good players, and the quarterback didn’t need to be maybe the focal point that Bryce had to be on this team this year with eight new starters on offense,” Saban said. “It was a work in progress that he certainly engineered very tactfully.”

Young won the Heisman Trophy in just his first year as Alabama’s starting quarterback. A sophomore, Young is just 20 years old, making him the sixth-youngest player to ever take home the distinction, trailing only Lamar Jackson, Jameis Winston, Mark Ingram, Rashaan Salaam and Archie Griffin.

“(Young has) a presence and a leadership that is performance-based. Made all those guys gain confidence and get better,” Saban said. “I think it was a little different dynamic for him this year than maybe it was for some of the other (quarterbacks) in their years.”

The Heisman Trophy is just the latest in a slew of awards for the Alabama signal caller. Young was also the winner of the Maxwell Award and the AP’s National Player of the Year award.

“There’s been such a great legacy at the University of Alabama, and there’s such a rich quarterback history, from all the guys that have been there,” Young said Saturday, just hours before he became the first quarterback in program history to take home the Heisman. “I take a lot of pride in doing what I can to make those guys proud and continue the history and continue that legacy of Alabama quarterbacks.”