Nick Saban reacts to Bryce Young’s chance to go No. 1 overall, recruiting QBs at Alabama

Former Alabama quarterback Bryce Young is projected by many analysts to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Young had a stellar career at Alabama, following in the footsteps of other recent Crimson Tide QBs that have taken their talents to the next level. Producing NFL talent is nothing new to Alabama head coach Nick Saban, but on Wednesday he spoke about Young and how the Alabama quarterback lineage has impacted the program.

“I don’t think there’s any question about the fact that the last three quarterbacks we have had at Alabama are all starters in the league, including Jalen (Hurts), and Bryce may be the first guy picked in the draft,” Saban said. “And I think all those things are selling points to guys that want to have a career and develop a career, really at any position, but especially the quarterback position. It speaks volumes of the sort of offense that we’ve has that is quarterback friendly and the receivers that we’ve also had that have been very successful as well.”

Saban also gave his pitch for Young being this year’s No. 1 overall pick, speaking about the traits of his former Heisman trophy winner and even bringing up the popular narrative of his size surrounding his evaluation.

“So we’re excited for Bryce, we’re certainly hopeful that everything works out for him. I don’t think there’s any question about the fact that most people agree that he was the most productive guy in the draft at that position,” Saban said. “But they take size and all that stuff into consideration and all that kind of stuff into consideration. It’s not where you get picked in the draft though, it’s really what kind of career you have and he’s the kind of guy that whatever happens in this is he’s gonna be very dedicated to trying to be the best player he can be.”

Young was the No. 1 rated quarterback in the nation in his 2020 high school recruiting class out of Mater Dei high school in California according to On3’s Industry Ranking. Fast forward three years and he still maintains that status by many as the top guy in this year’s draft class. Saban recruited Young out of high school and was asked if he saw No. 1 overall draft pick potential out of him as a high schooler.

“I don’t look at that tape that way,” Saban said. “It’s so hard to say because we don’t have the opportunity to evaluate the other players. When you’re in the league, which I was in the league for eight years, you have the opportunity to evaluate all the players so you can make comparisons. But it’s very difficult to make those comparisons when you’re just looking at your players and especially when you look at a high school player.”

Saban elaborated on the high school recruiting and development process, as Young will soon embark on an NFL journey that many Crimson Tide players have traveled before him.

“Because I think the most important thing we try to get our high school, guys regardless of what position, is to focus on their development. They all want to first round draft picks some day, but what do you have to do to do it? And what are you willing to sacrifice to be able to do it? And how can you stay focused on not the outcome, but what you have to do to get the outcome, and I think that’s the most important thing. Bryce did an outstanding job of that and a lot of our players have been rewarded very well for, I think we had something like 70 players on NFL rosters last year, so we’re proud of that and it helps in recruiting.