Two California Quarterbacks Set for SEC Showdown
Matt Corral and Bryce Young will be squaring off for the first time on Saturday. Well, the first time as college quarterbacks at least.
"I played him once when I was at Long Beach, and he was at Mater Dei," Corral said. "They killed us. Mater Dei is ridiculous, but so is Alabama. It’s going to be a great team to go against, and it’s going to be fun playing against him for sure.”
Even though they both now play in SEC Country for Ole Miss and Alabama respectively, Corral and Young got their quarterback careers started growing up in Southern California.
Corral, a junior from Ventura, California, has been a big part of the Rebels' 3-0 record and top-12 ranking. In just three games, he's thrown for 997 yards with nine touchdowns and no interceptions. Corral's also added 158 yards and five touchdowns rushing which has currently placed him first in nearly all the early-season Heisman odds.
However, Corral said the Heisman is not something he or his teammates are putting focus or energy towards.
Following closely behind him in those Heisman odds is the Alabama quarterback Young. As Corral said, Young played for one of the best high school football programs in the country at Mater Dei in Santa Ana, California.
Young said he sees the quarterback community in general, but especially for those out of Southern California, as a tight-knit community.
"I've worked with him a few times, I've talked to him a few times, so I have a lot of respect for his game," Young said about Corral. "Again, being able to see him progress from me remembering him as a freshman in high school to obviously all the things he's doing now, so I have a ton of respect for him."
Coming out of high school, Young was widely considered the top quarterback prospect in the class of 2020 and has lived up to expectations in year one as the starting quarterback for the Crimson Tide.
Through a third of the regular season, Young has 15 touchdowns compared to just one interception.
When asked what brings the California quarterbacks to the SEC, Young said that he wanted the chance to compete against the best in practice and the best teams week-by-week.
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin had similar thoughts but also expanded on the idea.
"I think that's just a product of the SEC being so much better than everywhere else," Kiffin said. "And the offenses have changed out here. It used to kind of be the West Coast was ahead offensively, and the SEC was a little bit archaic, but that's obviously changed a lot now."
Last season in the 63-48 loss to Alabama, Corral had 365 yards passing and added 40 more on the crowd. Things could be a little more challenging for him on Saturday.
With 17 career starts at the position, Corral has more experience overall than Young, but Young has one thing that Corral does not: experience in front of a hostile environment on the road.
Corral was the starter for Ole Miss all of last season, but because of the limited crowds due to the pandemic, Saturday will be the first time he has had to lead the Rebel offense into a hostile environment.
Most are predicting a high-scoring affair when Alabama and Ole Miss meet again this year. It's still early in the season, but the performances of Corral and Young on Saturday could have big impacts on not just the Heisman Trophy race but also the SEC and College Football Playoff.
