Nick Saban shares how valuable Bryce Young's mindset is for Alabama

Bryce Young had a year during his first season as Alabama’s starting quarterback. His season was good enough for him to take home the Heisman Trophy. While Young is undoubtedly known as one of the most talented players in the country, Alabama head coach Nick Saban believes that Young’s ability to manage the mental aspect of the game is just as valuable.

“Well I think he does a really good job of that,” Saban said of the mental part of Young’s game as Alabama’s quarterback. “He’s very focused on what he needs to do, he doesn’t let external factors distract him very often. 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.

“But he also is very focused on the process of what he has to do to do that. How he needs to prepare, how he needs to understand, how he needs to practice. And he sets a really good example for all of the players on the team by the way he does that. I think it sort of shows in his consistency and his performance all year long.”

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 Saban throughout the season for his ability to remain poised on and off the field.

Young immediately thanked Alabama teammate after taking home the Heisman Trophy

By winning the Heisman Trophy, Young became the fourth Alabama player to do so and the first Crimson Tide quarterback to take home the award. He is the second consecutive Alabama player to win, as wide receiver DeVonta Smith won the prestigious award last season.

Immediately following the announcement of Young’s Heisman win, he did exactly what Saban has praised him for all year: he thanked his Alabama teammates.

Right after winning, Alabama left tackle Evan Neal said that Young immediately texted him to thank him for his help along the way this year.

“And the first thing Bryce did, he texted me,” Neal added. “He said, ‘Hey man, I couldn’t do it without you.’ That just shows the kind of character he has. I feel like he didn’t really look at it as an individual award, or he looked at it as more of a team thing because it took more than just him to get that award. It took everybody on the offense surrounding him to be able to make that happen. So I’m extremely proud of Bryce. I’m extremely proud of what he’s been able to accomplish.”