Nick Saban wants Bryce Young to learn from his injury, protect himself better

Alabama‘s star quarterback Bryce Young suffered a shoulder injury in the second quarter of their most recent game versus Arkansas. Young was injured on a play where he left the pocket and was running towards the sideline away from Razorback linebacker Drew Sanders, who was tackling Young when he attempted to throw the ball just inches away from the ground and landed awkwardly on his throwing shoulder.

Young attempted a pass following his awkward landing, and immediately left the game with obvious pain in his throwing shoulder and never returned. Head coach Nick Saban described Young’s injury as ‘not a long-term thing’, and gave some advice to his Hesiman winning quarterback about better protecting himself.

“The only thing I would tell Bryce is don’t put yourself in a bad position, he could’ve thrown the ball away before and he could’ve just let the guy tackle him,” Saban said. “In either case he probably wouldn’t have an issue, but putting himself in the awkward position of trying to throw the ball on his way down and then landing the way he did.”

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Saban may have a stern presence, but made it clear that his attitude on Young’s injury was coming from a place of growth and learning.

“Just try to avoid those kind of circumstances and situations for any injury, but again that’s not a criticism, it’s a teaching moment that players have to learn,” Saban said.

Saban actually believes a reason the injury was sustained by Young was due to his qualities as a player, as he spoke on how Young’s competitive nature and playmaking abilities led to him getting hurt.

“The thing about great competitors, and Bryce is a great competitor, is they always want to make a play,” Saban said. “They’re gonna go to the last nth degree to make a play, but sometimes you gotta know when there’s no play to be made, and now it’s time to not put myself at risk.”

Thankfully for the Crimson Tide, backup quarterback Jalen Milroe stepped up to the occasion in Young’s absence, throwing for 65 yards and a touchdown in the air and 91 yards rushing and a touchdown on the ground in Alabama’s 49-26 win.

Young’s status heading into their next game is unclear, but he is one of the nation’s best decision-makers in the country at the quarterback position. And hopefully, whenever he does return to play for Alabama, he can continue to make good ones for his offense and his own health moving forward.