Alabama football hopes history can repeat itself
The Nick Saban era has been filled with historic performances for Alabama football. Between the titles and records, perfection is expected in Tuscaloosa. Still, Tide fans expect more, and they are hoping history will be repeated.
Alabama football fans are hoping that a specific bit of history is repeated in 2021. Since 2009, Alabama has won a national championship with new quarterbacks consistently. Alabama has had seven quarterbacks who have started for at least a whole season. This is including Jake Coker and Jalen Hurts, who started every game except for one and played significant minutes in those games. All of those quarterbacks led Alabama football to the College Football Playoff or BCS National Championship. Four of the seven won titles in their first years as starting quarterbacks. Out of those three who did not, both Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa contributed significantly to a championship team.
The only quarterback who failed to lead the Tide to a National Championship since Greg McElroy was Blake Sims, but he led the Tide to the top seed of the College Football Playoff.
Needless to say, history is on the side of a new quarterback. Bryce Young is hoping to be the next starting quarterback to lead Alabama football to a title. With his dynamic skill set, he will add new facets to the Crimson Tide offense. He will also play behind a strong offensive line with highly-touted recruits at receiver.
Of course, you can take any data point and use it to justify your argument. It is also true that Alabama has not won back-to-back titles since A.J. McCarron was the quarterback. They also have played better with pocket passers as opposed to mobile threats. Still, history points to a successful 2021 season.
Bryce Young has a lot of weight on his shoulders. He will be looking to improve the greatest offense in Alabama football history. This will be a challenge, but a few data points suggest that he will be successful in his first year as a starter.