Nick Saban Details How Bryce Young Earned the Trust of his Teammates
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — This past offseason, sophomore quarterback Bryce Young was named Alabama football's new starter at the position. With the departure of Mac Jones to the NFL, it was time for Young to take over the mantle as the Crimson Tide's primary signal caller.
As fall camp began to ramp up, new offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien said during his sole media availability of the preseason that with a new quarterback, new coordinator and a revamped wide receiver group, building trust was a primary goal heading into the season.
“The quarterback position and the way it’s evolved over time, it’s really a coach on the field,” O’Brien said back in early August. “That’s the way it’s been here at Alabama. The quarterback has to be very well prepared. With all the multiplicity you see on defense, you have to adjust, you have to communicate with your teammates, and there has to be a trust developed – not only a trust of me trusting the quarterback, but the quarterback trusting our offensive staff and me that we’re putting them in the right position.”
On Wednesday night, Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban revealed how Young was able to build that trust over the span of one offseason.
So far this season, Young has done nothing but impress. In his first year as a starter in the SEC, Young currently ranks fourth in the conference in passing yards with 1,124 through four games. He is also tied for the lead in the conference in passing touchdowns with 15 and is third in the SEC in completion percentage at 72.13.
Saban said that in order for teammates to trust each other in the game of football, first they must respect what they do on the gridiron.
"I think that anybody trusts anybody, because first of all they respect what they do," Saban told reporters on Wednesday night via Zoom. "They’re accountable to what they do. They do what they’re supposed to do, aright. That’s as a person, as a student, as a player on the field. And that’s how you develop respect for someone as a competitor and as a player. And then when they do that over time, that’s what you develop trust that the guy’s going to do what he’s supposed to do because he’s done it over and over and over again."
Saban went on to explain that Young was able to do just that.
"I think that’s how his teammates develop trust and respect," Saban said. "I mean, you could go down a list of guys on our team. They probably would never tell you if you asked them, but they all know who they can trust. Who’s going to run the right and catch the ball at the right depth and all that. And they probably know some of the guys that they can’t trust to do that, and it’s because those guys have not been accountable to do it the right way on a consistent basis."
This weekend, top-ranked Alabama football will face No. 12 Ole Miss in the Crimson Tide's biggest game of the season thus far. While the Rebels are currently last in the conference in interceptions, the team has still shown much improvement on the defensive side of the football compared to last season. However, the objective when playing a high-flying offense like Ole Miss isn't necessarily overcoming its defense. Rather, it's playing keep-up with the Rebels' offense.
Trust between Young and his offense will be key in Alabama's game on Saturday afternoon. While it's worked fairly well for the team so far this season, offensive unity will be even more crucial when attempting to stave off one of the top programs in the country.
Saban acknowledged that the outcome of trust is based on performances on the field, noting that that's how Young has been able to earn the respect of the team up to this point.
"The result is kind of the reckoning based on what happens when you go perform, which is every game that we play," Saban said. "I think that’s how anybody gains trust, that you do things the right way over a long period of time, and people come to find out, 'Hey, you can believe what this guy says. He says what he means, he’s going to do what he says, and he’ll go out and execute it every day.'
"That’s how you develop trust. I think that’s how anybody develops trust."
