Bryce Young: "I try my best to be a student of the game"

Alabama quarterback Bryce Young addressed the media on Thursday to explain his progression this offseason, as well as which quarterbacks he models his game after.

It’s been a busy offseason for the Crimson Tide sophomore, who hardly saw the field last season backing up Mac Jones. But before the Pasadena, California, native is thrust into the starting quarterback role, he made sure to spend the summer months working on his leadership skills.

“I felt like there was a lot of improvement that I was focused on this offseason,” Young said. “I feel like leadership was one of the big ones for me, seeing how strong of a leadership we had last year and obviously the success we had last year was something that was really inspiring for me.”

Young complemented the leadership of Alabama’s eldest players last season but understands that onus now falls on him. Previously a five-star prospect, Young hopes he can apply what he learned from upperclassman last season to his increased role this fall.

But in truth, Young does more than just follow in the footsteps of the older student-athletes — he’s even tapped into NFL talent to make himself a better leader, he said. When asked which quarterbacks he models his game after, he said he sought two of the NFL’s top quarterbacks, Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers. By studying their games, Young hopes to make himself a better contributor both on and off the field.

“For me, as far as NFL quarterbacks, Aaron Rodgers is someone that I definitely look up to on the field,” he said, continuing, “along with Russell Wilson, who also does a lot of really good stuff. I try my best to be a big student of the game, so if I’m here naming quarterbacks that I try to look at and take pieces of their game from, we’ll be here for a minute.”

Fittingly, Young, who emphasizes himself on his fortified leadership skills, says he works his game around the needs of the team. The game plan revolves around Nick Saban and first-year offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, he said.

“My goal is to really craft my game around what we need as a team,” Young continued. “Whatever coach O’Brien [and] coach Saban want me to do, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m someone who tries to work hard on and off the field, and really I want to do what’s best for the team. So, whatever the gameplan is that coach O’Brien and coach Saban have for mw, that’s what I’m going to execute.”