Bryce Young reveals how his rise to fame has changed his life

Alabama quarterback Bryce Young has achieved the highest levels of recognition since taking down Georgia and winning the Heisman trophy. The prestige has come with a new element of national fame that the young signal-caller must balance.

Four months ago, no one knew how he would handle college defenses. Now, Bryce Young is the top quarterback in Division-I football and a shoo-in for a high draft position come 2023. The 5-foot-11 California native is staying humble as his squad nears the Cotton Bowl.

“Honestly, nothing’s really changed for me,” Young said. “There have been good moments for us as a team and for me individually, but it doesn’t change the way I approach my day-to-day. It hasn’t changed how I think about myself or others.

“You’re always working towards a goal. We haven’t reached that goal yet. It doesn’t feel like a difference for me or in my life. I still have to show up every day and put my all into getting better.”

On the season, Young completed 68% of his passes for 4,322 yards, 43 touchdowns and just four interceptions. He also had three rushing touchdowns. But in addition to his strong play at quarterback for Alabama, Young has been praised by Nick Saban throughout the season for his ability to remain poised on and off the field.

“He’s very focused on what he needs to do, he doesn’t let external factors distract him very often,” Saban said of his star quarterback. “He’s got good ability to focus on the next play and not get too bothered about what happened on the last play. I think he has a high standard for himself in terms of what he wants to do, what he wants to achieve.”

Young projected as top 2023 draft prospect

According to ESPN’s NFL Draft guru Mel Kiper, Bryce Young will be in a lofty category when his time rolls around.

“If you bookend these guys with last year’s class and you look at Bryce Young for next year [2023] out of Alabama, Bryce Young would be in the Trevor Lawrence category,” Kiper Jr. said, via the New York Post. “This year, you got a lot of guys who are OK, but not great. Last year, we had the five phenomenal guys.”

While the 2022 NFL Draft may not feature a quarterback of the Heisman winner’s caliber, Kiper reveals that Young will be at the forefront in 2023. However, teams like the Detroit Lions and Houston Texas are wishing Young was eligible to be the No. 1 selection in 2022.

On3’s Stephen Samra contributed to this report.