Bryce Young explains 'easy' decision to play in Sugar Bowl

The trend of college football’s top NFL Draft prospects declaring for the draft and forgoing their bowl game is one that Alabama quarterback Bryce Young is not following, as he’s decided to play in the Crimson Tide’s Sugar Bowl matchup versus Kansas State on December 31. Young recently spoke about his decision and pulled back the curtain on why he chose to play in his final game for Alabama.

“It was just I wanted to finish with my teammates this season, again there’s been a lot of work, a lot that’s gone into this year and I just get another change to play with my brothers, that’s really how I look at it,” Young said. “This is a great opportunity for us as a team, for me, for all of us and we’ve all had each others backs all year.”

Young is regarded by many as the top quarterback prospect, and by some as the top overall prospect, of the entire 2023 NFL Draft. The former Heisman Trophy winner has thrown for 8,035 yards and 75 touchdown passes in his career with the Crimson Tide. He’s accomplished plenty at Alabama, and is looking forward to accomplishing more at the next level, but first he wants to finish what he started with his teammates in their season finale.

“It’s been about accountability, about making sure that we’re holding ourselves to our standard and that’s words we all live by, that I live by. So for me it was easy, it’s another opportunity to go out there and play with my brothers. So again, I’m grateful for the chance that we have, for the opportunity we all have individuals and as a team, this is a huge opportunity,” Young said.

Despite the Crimson Tide not having the ability to play for a National Championship like they’re normally accustomed to doing around this time of year, their opportunity in the Sugar Bowl is definitely not a small one, as they’ll be facing the reigning Big 12 champions in Kansas State in one of six premier New Year’s six matchups.

“This is a big game to play against a really really good team and we have a lot that we want to prove to ourselves, there’s a lot that we want to accomplish as a team and I’m just happy to get another chance to play with my guys,” Young said.

Young’s decision to play in one last game for Alabama surely means a lot to not only his teammates, but the Crimson Tide fan base, as they’ll watch No. 9 suit up one last time at 12:00 p.m. ET on December 31 in the Sugar Bowl airing on ESPN.