Bryce Young Confident in Himself and Teammates Heading into Season Opener

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — When it comes to confidence in Alabama’s offense just five days away from the team’s season opener in Atlanta against No. 14 Miami, there seems to be no one more confident than the Crimson Tide’s starting quarterback, Bryce Young.

Young was officially listed as the program’s starter on Alabama’s initial depth chart, which was released early Monday afternoon. When wide receiver John Metchie III was unable to visit with the media due to a scheduling conflict, Young took to the podium and addressed his confidence in the team.

“I have all the confidence in the world in my teammates,” Young said. “We are striving for consistency we're striving for greatness but you know, that's not just one particular player or one particular group. Us as a whole, we all are working to be better each and every day to be more consistent. I have supreme confidence in all my teammates.

“They're guys who, really we've been able to come closer and grow together this offseason so I have all the confidence in the world in the people I'm playing with and we're all working towards that level of success and that standard that [Nick] Saban sets for us collectively.”

It seems that Young’s confidence in his program, and himself, has begun to make an impression on his coach. Saban has repeatedly spoken highly of the second-year player, noting his abilities at the quarterback position despite his lack of experience as a starter.

Earlier on Monday, during his own press conference, Saban highlighted Young’s confidence.

“Bryce has done a nice job,” Saban said. “I think he's very confident. He understands the offense really well. He's accurate with the ball. As I've mentioned before, the focus has been ‘Can we get the players around them to play a little bit better with him?’ So that's going to help him probably be able to execute a little bit better, and that's been what we both worked hard on and I think we're making good progress in that regard.”

On the defensive side of the football, the confidence in the Crimson Tide’s Week 1 starting signal caller is just as emphatic.

Redshirt-senior defensive lineman Phidarian Mathis, who was listed as a starting defensive end at the same time that Young was finally officially deemed a starter, made it known that the confidence in the young quarterback extends past the trenches onto the defense as well.

“Just being ready for the game, I think Bryce Young has been really productive on the field,” Mathis said. “He’s been a very great competitor and also a great leader for the team. I just can’t wait to see what he brings to the table come this weekend.”

In 2020, Young spent the majority of the season on the bench behind Heisman finalist and first-round NFL Draft pick Mac Jones. Playing as the second-string quarterback, Young was able to register 13 completions on 22 attempts for 156 yards and a touchdown.

As the starter for the White Team at the 2021 A-Day Game, Young impressed by completing 25 of 44 passes for 333 yards. The performance earned him the title of MVP.

Now, Young will face his biggest challenge yet: starting Week 1 for the Crimson Tide against a solid Hurricanes defense that returns nearly every starter. While he experienced limited action last season, Young has had an entire spring and fall offseason to prepare — something that he didn’t have last year.

“Everyone is really excited to get the season started,” Young said. “You go through a long offseason of going against each other and it's great to finally be able to play other people and start a game plan and prepare. It's super exciting overall, me individually and us as a team.

“For us to start the season and for us to try to put together a game plan and start working towards an opponent, we're all excited about it.”