Bryce Young discusses upholding ‘Bama Standard’

Bryce Young represents the standard that Nick Saban expects from his Alabama team.

The quarterback has been stellar in almost every aspect on and off the field for the Crimson Tide throughout his time with the program, and capped off his collegiate career with a victory in the Sugar Bowl last weekend.

Afterwards, Young discussed upholding the Alabama Standard, and how it’s become his source code.

“For us, the standard, that’s something that we live by. It’s not just something that we can do one time. … It continues. For the future, the program’s future, everything. We have to live by that each and every day,” explained Young. “But for us, what we did take from that is that we had pride in how we played, how we prepared. Us wanting to finish, us wanting to push ourselves and hold each other accountable. So, that was really what was the biggest for me. All my time and all my effort has been going into this game. That’s what my focus has been on.

“So I’m just happy to celebrate this with my guys, and that’s all I can think about.”

Moving forward, Bryce Young will be used as an example for not only Alabama players, but college football players in general. As he moves on to the NFL, it’s time to appreciate the tremendous two-year run he had as the Alabama starting quarterback.

Bryce Young reveals where he grew the most during his time at Alabama

Following a stellar Sugar Bowl performance and career as a whole, Alabama quarterback Bryce Young has declared for the 2023 NFL Draft. Young is regarded as one of the top prospects of this draft class, and was similarly a top high school prospect as well. It may seem like Young has had it all figured out his whole career, but following the Sugar Bowl he spoke about his biggest areas of growth in his collegiate career. 

“For me I think it’s really been the leadership. Growing up, being far away from home, I had to grow up really quickly. My freshman year I was able to be around such a great team with such great leaders, obviously being around Mac (Jones), being around Smitty (DeVonta Smith), Dub (Jaylen Waddle), everyone that was on that team, there’s a bunch of people I’m leaving out but it’s such a long list of people that kind of set that pace for. And being able to learn that and learn how to lead, what it takes to be successful at this level and what it means to play quarterback and to carry yourself like one,” Young siad.

Young’s evolution and growth as a leader has definitely translated to offensive success for the Crimson Tide this season, helping lead a top 5 ranked scoring offense to 11 wins this season. He’s had no shortage of elite players and leaders to learn from during his time in Tuscaloosa on the field, but off the field he also grew through his own personal journey.

“I think that’s really the biggest growth and development I’ve had here in college, off the field I think it’s just growing in my faith. Again, I left home, I was very far away from where I was at and I was very uncomfortable at first,” Young said. “Especially when the pandemic hit, it was an uncertain time, there was a lot that was up in the air, but I’ve grown a lot just being away from home.”

Young’s hometown of Santa Ana, California is a ways away from Alabama’s campus, but it’s safe to say that he settled in just fine as he now leaves the Crimson Tide as one of their best quarterbacks of all time with his name cemented in their school record books.

“Again, I’ve been blessed to have the family I have, the parents I have that have been with me through all of it and supported me. But having to be far away, having to step into something that was uncomfortable, I think that challenged me as a man, and I’m forever grateful for Alabama for challenging me in that way and I feel like I’ve grown a lot because of it,” Young said.

On3’s Kaiden Smith contributed to this article.