Bryce Young, Will Anderson Jr. Leaning on Each Other as Leaders Following Alabama's Latest Loss
BATON ROUGE, La. — They have been the face of Alabama football for the last two years. Will Anderson Jr. and Bryce Young: the best defensive and best offensive player in college football in 2021.
Heck, Young has been the face of college football for over a year now as the reigning Heisman trophy winner and NIL star. But in what is likely their last season with the Crimson Tide as both will be headed off to the NFL, Young and Anderson will not get the chance to compete for a national title.
Alabama lost to LSU 32-31 in overtime Saturday night, effectively ending any chances at Alabama repeating as SEC champions or making it back to the College Football Playoff for the eighth time in nine years.
Young and Anderson were both named as permanent team captains as true sophomores last season and have been game captains for every game this season. The two were the only players who spoke to the media after the loss, once against having to fight through an insurgence of fans to get off the field and then to the postgame press conference room.
The Alabama quarterback did not have his best night, especially in the first half, completing less than half of his passes. On Alabama's first drive, the offense marched down the field easily, but Young threw an interception in the end zone on second-and-goal. However, the main reason Alabama stayed in the game and had a fourth-quarter lead was because of Young's magic.
Young somehow escaped the pressure of the LSU defense to find a wide-open Ja'Corey Brooks for a 41-yard touchdown that gave Alabama a 21-17 lead with less than five minutes to go.
He finished with 328 yards and the one touchdown, but had the costly interception in the first half and tied his career low from the 2021 Iron Bowl with a 49% completion percentage.
"Bryce played a real good game," Alabama head coach Nick Saban said in the postgame. "He made a lot of plays. He made an unbelievable play to get ahead 21-17.”
Young was visibly upset and frustrated after the loss. Whether it was with the game itself, his individual performance or because his chances of winning a national title as the starting quarterback at Alabama slipping away is unclear. Anderson sensed that Young needed some encouragement.
"Bryce works his ass off every day," Anderson said. It’s hard being Bryce Young. He’s a tremendous leader. He does everything the right way. He has a lot of people looking up to him. And I’m happy to have him as a teammate. I know he said he needs to work on his individual stuff, but I know everybody on defense and offense is super proud of Bryce. He does a great job for us.”
The Alabama staff tried to usher the duo safely back to the bus, but Young wanted to make sure he got to talk about what Anderson means to this team as well.
"Everyone gets to see Will on the field, but Will is the heartbeat of this team," Young said. "He’s stepped up throughout the year, multiple times. That’s a team thing. We lean on each other in times like this. I’m blessed to be with you. I’m blessed to have Will has a brother and be part of this team. We’re going to keep moving forward and grow individually and as a team.”
As part of his opening statement, Saban said no one feels worse about the loss than the players. Anderson voiced his frustration early on in the press conference, but said effort is not the problem with this team.
"I just want to say, no matter the outcome of the game, I’m super proud of all those guys," Anderson said. "Because Monday through Friday, we work our asses off. There’s no bullshitting, no any of that. All those guys are locked in. And effort is not the issue. We just have to lock in. It’s all mental for us."
With Alabama in the unfamiliar position of being out of the SEC and Playoff race at the beginning of November, the captains have a challenge ahead of keeping the the team focused over the final few games of the regular season, starting with Ole Miss next week. Young said the team is going to work to continue to get better.
"There’s nobody that benefits from not getting better," Saban said. "There’s nobody that benefits from not playing well. Whether it’s their future that they’re worried about or this team. And these guys care about this team. When you play in a game like this, all you got is the guys you got, but that’s really all you need if you do things together and do it the right way. And I was proud of the way our guys competed in the game. We just didn’t make quiet enough plays when we needed to, and didn’t make the play at the end of the game."
See Also:
LSU Knocks Off Alabama in OT, Ends Crimson Tide's Playoff Hopes
Alabama Again Can't Match Opponents' Desperation Level as Title Hopes Dashed
Learning Opportunities in Loss at LSU Too Little, Too Late for Alabama Football
Another Road Game, Another Failure of Execution for Alabama
Instant Analysis: No. 15 LSU 32, No. 6 Alabama 31 (OT)
Everything Nick Saban Said Following Alabama's 32-31 Overtime Loss at LSU
Notebook: Alabama had the Defense it Wanted on Two-Point Conversion
Everything LSU Coach Brian Kelly Said After Beating Alabama 32-31 in Overtime
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