Bryce Young 'super happy' for Nick Saban after retirement

Nick Saban is retired. No longer coaching college football — many of his former players have come out in response to their former headman leaving the game. That includes Bryce Young, who many consider to be the top QB from Saban’s Alabama tenure.

“I was just happy for him,” Young told fellow former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy. “Obviously, as we both know, he’s done so much. He has changed so many lives and has helped so many people. He’s done so much for university, the city, the state and I’m happy that now he kind of gets to get to sit back and enjoy. He gets to close that chapter of his life and move on to the next.”

Young is the last starting quarterback that Saban was able to develop from his freshman season until his early departure for the NFL Draft last year. The success the two had together might not have brought any national titles to T-Town — but Saban was able to get the most out of Young compared to QBs in previous years.

During his first year of starting experience for the 2021 season — Young did not disappoint. That season, Young completed 66.9 percent of his pass attempts, throwing for 4,872 yards with 47 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Young’s dominant 2021 season led to him winning the Heisman Trophy in a landslide with 684 first-place votes. The next closest competitor was Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, who garnered 78 first-place votes.

He is the first and only quarterback to win a Heisman Trophy under Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa.

Young moved on to 2022, where he completed 64.5 percent of his passes for 3,328 yards with 32 touchdowns and five interceptions this season. He also added 185 yards and four touchdowns rushing while leading Alabama to a 45-20 victory over Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl.

While Young wasn’t able to recapture the magic from 2021 during his final season, he will go down as the most productive and individually successful quarterback of Saban’s tenure. Of course, it helped elevate Young to the position of becoming the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers.

Young’s NFL career is off to a bumpy start in Carolina after they finished the regular season with the league’s worst record at 2-15. If the Panthers can build around Young in the coming seasons, Young can be predicted to return to his Alabama form if surrounded by the right pieces.