Bryce Young Not Focused on Individual Accolades as Reigning Heisman Winner
ATLANTA — Before Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa, the Alabama trophy case was full of almost every trophy imaginable, except for the most prestigious individual award in college football.
Now, no team in the Southeastern Conference has more Heisman trophy winners than the Crimson Tide after quarterback Bryce Young became the program's fourth winner last December.
Young has said it throughout the offseason and reiterated it at Tuesday's SEC Media Days in Atlanta that even though he had a lot of individual success last season, his priority is on the team and the team only.
"Being at Alabama, all you have to focus on is the team and winning," Young said. "We didn’t get it done last year. That's really the approach I'm taking. I definitely have a lot of motivation, a lot of fuel to do that."
Young joins Mark Ingram as the other Saban player to return for another season after winning the Heisman. He already has his name written all over the Crimson Tide record books and has the chance to go out as one of the most decorated players in SEC history.
Last season, Young threw for 4,872 yards and 47 touchdowns, both single-season records for Alabama. He also set the Crimson Tide record for individual passing yards in a game with 559 against Arkansas. But the ever humble quarterback still sees room to improve.
"Winning the Heisman is obviously a huge honor, means a lot, but I also understand that that doesn’t entitle me to anything," Young said. "Really it’s an award that celebrates one season that I had in the past. Which is again an honor, but doesn’t mean anything moving forward.
"So because of that, I don't feel like I'm where I need to be. I don't feel like I'm a finished product by any means. There’s a lot of stuff I can keep getting better at."
During Saban's opening remarks at SEC Media Days, the Alabama head coach said that each player is responsible for their own self-determination. And Young seems to have plenty of it.
When asked how he and the offensive staff plan on coaching a returning Heisman winner, Saban said it's all about having the right mindset.
"I think that one of the most important things for Bryce or any player who has success is to understand that success is not a continuum," Saban said. "Success is momentary. So if you're going to continue to have success, you have to stay focused on the things you need to do to improve, to prepare, to lead, to impact and affect other people around you.
"Bryce has shown every indication that he's got a willingness to do all those things. He's a perfectionist in terms of what he wants to do and what he wants to accomplish. So far I've been pleased with the way he's been able to maintain the mindset that you need to do to continue to improve and make progress as a player."
Young is also focused on being a leader for his team as he enters his junior season. Leadership and team success are two of his repeated topics this offseason.
While it is extremely difficult to repeat as a Heisman winner, as evidenced by it only happening once with Archie Griffin in 1974 and 1975, Young is sure to rack up several individual accolades this season. But according to Young, that doesn't matter. One of the things he loves about Alabama and why he chose to come play in Tuscaloosa is the focus on the team.
Alabama has made the College Football Playoff in both of Young's two season with the Crimson Tide. The team came home with the title during Young's backup season in 2020, and fell short with the loss to Georgia in the title game last January.
And after last season didn't end the way the Crimson Tide, and especially Young, wanted it to, there is a singular goal in mind for this season.
"For me, it's all about winning a championship and finishing what we failed to finish last year," Young said.
