Alabama Football opened its 2022 season with a commanding 55-0 win over Utah State. Obviously, the team found a lot of success. What should concern the rest of college football, however, is that Alabama still has plenty it can improve on.
Alabama Football Quarterbacks: A-
Bryce Young picked apart the Utah State defense for five first-half touchdown passes, and added another score on the ground. For the game, he totaled 195 yards through the air and 100 yards on the ground on only five carries. He didn’t make any spectacular throws, but he took what the defense gave him and made the easy play.
If I’m going to nitpick, Young exhibited some of the same issues as last year. He wasn’t always accurate on vertical throws, as well as throws to the corner of the end zone that required extra touch. His accuracy was noticeably impacted when he was under pressure.
Ultimately, however, Bryce Young looked like an elite quarterback. He made great decisions, eluded pass rushers with ease, and spread the ball around to a multitude of receivers. He did a very good job of being patient and taking off with the football at opportune times, something he didn’t really figure out until the second half of last season. Just the threat of Young using his legs is enough to keep opposing defenses honest and give the Alabama offense an extra dimension.
Redshirt freshman Jalen Milroe got to see a lot of playing time against Utah State and played pretty well. He, like Young, made mostly good decisions and took the easy yardage he was given. He is a true dual-threat quarterback that is gradually gaining polish.
The only real knock on Milroe was a badly underthrown deep ball that was intercepted. Milroe actually made a great read on the play and found Christian Leary streaking behind the defense, he just made a poor throw. The two connected for a long touchdown on A-Day, so we know Milroe is capable of making that throw. He just has to become more consistent. True freshman Ty Simpson also got some valuable snaps, but mostly handed the ball off.