Nick Saban Defends Texans QB Prospect Bryce Young After Size Criticisms

Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Bryce Young had long been tied to the Houston Texans at the No. 2 overall pick and was widely considered the No. 1 QB prospect in the NFL Draft heading into the Scouting Combine last week.

That was, at least, until his official height and weight were taken, with the former Heisman winner coming in at 5-foot-10 and 204 pounds - far from the prototypical size of an NFL quarterback.

As a result, many pundits, including ESPN's Todd McShay, cautioned the Texans against picking Young, instead encouraging them to go in a different direction.

However, Young's college coach at Alabama, the legendary Nick Saban, could not disagree more, coming to a brisk defense of his former quarterback.

“We’ve all seen the 6-4, 225-pound guy that can throw it like a bazooka, but he can’t make the choices and decisions; he can’t distribute the ball; he can’t throw it accurately,” Saban said in an interview. “So who’s the better bet? I’m going on history, production, performance, and Bryce Young’s done it about as well as anybody.”

History is indeed on Young's side.

In two seasons as the Tide's starter, Young threw for 8,356 yards and 80 touchdowns, with just 12 interceptions, while leading his team to a 24-3 record, and SEC title (2021) and a national title appearance (2021)

And he did it all against the NFL's top pipeline - the SEC.

“I think history is the best indicator of what the future is going to bring,” Saban said. “Bryce is not ideal height that NFL folks would like to see for that particular position, quarterback. But I think Bryce has played extremely well... Because the SEC — there’s a lot of folks in the SEC that end up playing in the NFL — and he plays against those guys every week.”

Saban also compared him to a point guard in basketball, raving about his intelligence and awareness.

“I think you have to look at each individual player," Saban said. "This guy plays quarterback like a point guard in basketball. He’s got eyes all over. He knows where everybody is. He can extend plays. He creates throwing lanes for himself, which is important for a guy his size. He can make all the throws. He’s smart. So he has a lot of the attributes from a psychological disposition standpoint that are necessary to excel at this position.”

As we have seen in recent years, with quarterbacks like Drew Brees, Russell Wilson, and Kyler Murray, size is not everything.

That said, it does come with an inherent injury risk - yet another opinion Saban does not subscribe to.

"He’s never had a problem with injuries," Saban said. "The only [injury] that he had a problem with was self-inflicted, because when he was throwing the ball away at the last minute. He’s diving on the ground. He’s already sacked. He should just go down, and now he pulls his shoulder up. But I don’t think it’s an issue. I think you have to look at each individual player."

One way or another, a team will take a chance high in the draft on the 'undersized' Young.

And whichever one does, whether it be the Texans or not, will get a player who holds the steadfast confidence of arguably the best college football coach of all time.

Not too bad of an endorsement, right?

You can follow Matt Galatzan on Twitter @MattGalatzan

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