Alabama Football: Bryce Young not getting a ‘whole lotta love’

A big question is on the minds of Alabama Football fans and he can’t be answered until fall. Are the expectations for Bryce Young realistic? Among Crimson Tide fans, even on the lowest end of the scale, those expectations are lofty. The sophomore quarterback could prove to be very good and still not attain the level of the impact made by Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones.

Alabama football fans are often ready to proclaim the next Crimson Tide starter a superstar. In the case of Bryce Young, a freshman season did not showcase his potential. Seeing little meaningful action in the 2020 season, Young threw 22 passes and was credited with nine rushing attempts that mostly ended as sacks. Calling his freshman performance inauspicious is not unfair.

Alabama Crimson Tide fans refuse to consider Bryce’s college career unpromising. Outside the Crimson Tide nation, most college football experts agree that Bryce Young has tremendous potential. But they are not sure to what extent that potential will be seen in the 2021 season.

An evolving consensus of SEC football experts is that the best SEC quarterbacks in 2021 will be Georgia’s JT Daniels and Ole Miss’ Matt Corral – not necessarily in that order. In 12 games at Southern Cal and four games for the Georgia Bulldogs, Daniels has passed for 4,118 yards and has a completion rate of 62.2 percent. In 24 games at Ole Miss, Corral has passed for 4,938 yards with a completion rate of 66.9 percent.

The higher completion rate, arguably achieved against better defenses, gives Corral the best resume. Don’t say that to any Georgia fans. Based on message boards and Twitter, the Bulldogs think Daniels is a Heisman finalist lock.

Opinions of Alabama Football Starting QB

This week SEC football experts Cole Cubelic and Chris Doering picked Daniels and Corral as the SEC’s two best QBS. The pair disagreed on the order. Cubelic had Daniels No. 1 and Doering’s No. 1 was Corral. Crimson Tide fans will notice the opinions come from former Auburn and Florida players. In fairness, neither one should be considered a homer.

Cubelic placed Bo Nix outside his SEC top five QBs. Doering had the Gators’ Emory Jones at No. 5. Both guys placed the new Crimson Tide starter, Bryce Young at No. 4.

Using the two experts and a couple of more credible sources, Bryce Young is projected between No. 3 and No. 5 among 2021 SEC quarterbacks. Besides Daniels and Corral, two more names pop up. They are LSU Bengal Tiger, Myles Brennan and Missouri Tiger, Connor Bazelak. Brennan and Bazelak have far more experience than Bryce Young. Based on their experience, it is understandable why some think Young’s potential is not enough to rate him higher.

While waiting to learn how good Young will be, Crimson Tide fans are optimistic Bryce will not have to be better than Mac or Tua or Jalen. He can likely be the third or fourth or fifth best QB in the SEC, and with the Tide’s improved defense, he can win a championship.