WATCH: Bryce Young gives heartfelt Heisman acceptance speech

As Bryce Young walked to the podium to give his acceptance speech at the Heisman Trophy ceremony, he couldn’t stop smiling. He hoisted the trophy high before offering an emotional acceptance speech and thank yous all those who helped him on his journey to become Alabama first quarterback to claim the award.

“This is amazing,” an awestruck Young said. “First and foremost, I’d like to thank my lord and savior, Jesus Christ. Without him I couldn’t be here and through him all things are possible. I would like to thank my dad for always being there for me. From Day 1, you’ve been there throughout my life. You’ve always been a supporter. You’re more than just a father. You’re a best friend to me. For that, I’m eternally grateful. I want to thank my mom for always having my back. It’s not always easy. I’m always running around and you understand it. You always had my back and supported me and for that I’m forever grateful. (The rest of) my family also that’s out there supporting me, I’m super grateful.

“My teammates, I’d like to thank my O-line for protecting me and allowing me to win an award like this. My receivers, my running backs, the defense for getting me the ball back. Everyone. Whenever you win an award like this, it goes as an individual award, but it’s a team award. I couldn’t do it without any of those guys. I would like to thank coach Saban. Thank you for believing in me, offering guidance and putting me in situations to be successful. It really means a lot. I’d like to thank coach (Bill) O’Brien, my offensive coordinator. He’s had a lot of success in the past and he could’ve came in and just told me what to do. But he always included me in decisions and talked to me about stuff. That means a lot to me as a quarterback and always gave me a lot of confidence.

BY9
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— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) December 12, 2021

“I’d like to thank my high school coaches. They meant a lot to me and believed in me especially from a young age. I’d like to thank my city, Pasadena, for molding me into the young man I am and the community always showing support. It means the world to me. …I’d like to thank the other finalists. Thank you for allowing me to share this weekend with you guys. It’s been an honor to be in New York.”

Young won the popular vote, earning 684 first place votes, which is the tenth highest in the award’s history. In addition, he received 83% of total possible points, which is the seventh highest in the history of the Heisman Trophy, surpassing Cam Newton, who received 81.55% in 2010.

Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson received the second-most first place votes with 78.

A sophomore, Young was the No. 1 quarterback in the 2020 class according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

In spite of this, he came into frequent criticism regarding his size. Bryce Young stands at just 5-foot-11, and he said in his acceptance speech that the noise regarding his height was constantly in his ear.

“For me, I’ve always been labeled as someone who’s not the prototype,” he said. “Being an African-American quarterback, and being ‘undersized,’ I’ve always been ruled out and counted out. People a lot of times have told me I wasn’t gonna be able to make it. For me, it’s always been about not really proving them wrong, but proving to myself what I can accomplish. I try my best to maximize all I can do. Thanks to the people around me and the grace of God, I’ve been able to make it here. I’m truly grateful for that.”

After winning the Heisman vote, Young became the fourth Alabama player in school history to take home the trophy. He joined receiver DeVonta Smith (2020) and running backs Mark Ingram (2009) and Derrick Henry (2015) in Crimson Tide lore. Bryce Young made clear in his acceptance speech how much that means to him.

He will look to add onto his legacy to end the season as Alabama is one of four teams competing in the College Football Playoff. The Crimson Tide face Cincinnati in a semifinal game on New Year’s Eve.