3 keys for Alabama football to go undefeated
2. Bryce Young needs to command the offense
In the past, Alabama football has had a few different kinds of quarterbacks. They’ve had the game managers. Players like Greg McElroy and A.J. McCarron used the talent around them to lead the Tide to victory. Alabama has also had mobile quarterbacks like Blake Sims and Jalen Hurts. The Tide’s most recent iteration has been the efficient gunslinger. Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones took shots down the field, but they did not put the offense in jeopardy by doing so.
Bryce Young is more than a scrambler. He proved in the A-Day Game that he can stay in the pocket and force the ball down the field. He may be the most dynamic quarterback that Nick Saban has coached.
While all of this is great, it only matters if Young can put it all together on the field. Gone are the days where Alabama relies on a solid defense and a perfect running game. They need someone who can make a play on his own. Bryce Young can’t take a backseat. He has to be in full command of the offense. If he is unable to do so, it will be hard for the Tide to go undefeated in the regular season.
There’s no reason to believe that Young is incapable of commanding the offense. His stats were down as a true freshman, but he was only playing in garbage time. He’ll throw more passes against Miami than he did all of last year.