Paul Finebaum shocked by Bryce Young's performance for Alabama

Alabama sophomore Bryce Young finally made his regular-season Crimson Tide debut on Saturday, and in a dominating performance over the No. 14 Miami Hurricanes, he left no doubts that he’s capable of leading No. 1 Alabama back to the top of the college football world — and even SEC analyst Paul Finebaum agrees.

“Was that really his first start?” Finebaum said jokingly, appearing on Sports Center Sunday morning to break down the young quarterback’s debut. “I mean, this was a kid that last year, played behind Mac Jones, and he didn’t get in very often; there was no reason to put him in, because Mac Jones was absolutely perfect.”

Young enrolled at Alabama in the spring of 2020 after concluding a storied high school career at California powerhouse Mater Dei. As a freshman, Young sat behind Mac Jones but appeared in nine games. He finished the year 13-of-22 passing for 156 yards and a touchdown. Jones, by comparison, set an NCAA single-season record with a 77.4 completion percentage in 2020 — his only year as Alabama’s starter — coupled with 4,500 passing yards, 41 touchdowns and just four interceptions. He won a national championship and was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2020 but ultimately lost to his teammate, wide receiver DeVonta Smith.

Young, in his Alabama debut, was almost perfect himself. He completed 27 of 38 passes, good for a 71 completion percentage, and threw for 344 total yards and four passing touchdowns. He did not throw an interception, and his longest play was a 94-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams.

Young finished his day with a 181.8 quarterback rating, and he set a school record for passing touchdowns and yards in a debut as a starter.

“[Young] looked like he’d been there for years,” Finebaum continued. “He was simply unbelievable. It’s almost hard for those of us who have been covering college football for a very long time to think about. After his first start at Alabama, he is already the frontrunner for the Heisman. I can’t believe I just said that, but I did and it’s true.”

Ahead of the Week 1 opener, Young was listed at +1100 to win the Heisman Trophy by most sportsbooks; the favorite, Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler, was listed at around +650. Within a week, the two almost traded positions: now Young is the overall favorite to win, his ods priced at +500, and Rattler jumped up to +700.

“Yeah, Bryce has done a nice job,” head coach Nick Saban said before the season began. “I think he’s very confident, he understands the offense really well, he’s accurate with the ball, as I’ve mentioned before, the focus has been, ‘Can we get the players around him to play a little bit better with him?’ So, that’s going to help him probably be able to execute a little bit better and that’s been what we’ve worked hard on. And I think we’re making good progress in that regard.”