Archie Manning raves about Bryce Young: 'He's the coolest customer on the field'

Legendary NFL quarterback Archie Manning appeared on SportsCenter Tuesday to promote ‘On The Clock’, and ESPN+ series revolving around this year’s quarterback prospects for the NFL Draft. One of the biggest names is former Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, who many have ranked first or second amongst this years quarterback class.

Manning was asked why Young is worthy of being the No. 1 overall pick, and spoke about what makes the former Heisman Trophy winner so special.

“Bryce is, we had him here in New Orleans last year he won the Manning Award, he’s the coolest customer on the field,” Manning said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone that is just so calm, so cool, goes about his business, does his job, never gets rattled, he’s just fun to watch, absolutely.”

Young’s cool, calm, and collective demeanor breed success for himself and the Crimson Tide. In his two seasons as Alabama’s starter, he won 24 of his 27 starts, racking up 8,200 yards and 79 touchdowns with just 12 career interceptions.

He passes the eye test and has the intangibles, but the biggest knock on him as a prospect has been his size, with evaluators worrying about how his 5-foot-10, 204 pound frame will hold up at the next level.

“Now he got nicked up a little bit last year, it hurt Alabama a little bit when he was not 100%. He came back, he played well,” Manning said.

Young suffered a shoulder injury in week 5 versus Arkansas after taking a big hit on a risky pass attempt. He missed the rest of that game and one other as a result, but the moment that really stands out to Manning was his heroic week 2 performance versus Texas.

“I remember one game in particular early in the season that game at Texas, they were gonna get beat, Texas came to play and looked it was gon’ be a major upset. Bryce absolutely took that team on his shoulders in the fourth quarter and avoided that upset,” Manning said. “He’s an outstanding player and a great kid, just one of the nicest kids we’ve ever had.”

Young helped man a second half comeback versus the Longhorns, using his arm and his legs to propel them to a narrow one-point victory on the road in Austin. And on April 27, we will find out which NFL franchise Young will be looking leading to victory as a pro.