Stepping into the first-team quarterback role, Bryce Young impressed at the Alabama spring game on Saturday, winning the Most Valuable Player award after completing 25 of 44 passes for 333 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.
A former five-star prospectus, Young was Mac Jones’s main backup as a freshman last season. He competed in nine games, including late in Alabama’s victory over Ohio State in the national championship game.
Coach Nick Saban said after the scrimmage that Young played well all spring.
“We keep working on having some kind of presence that affects other people in a positive way,” Saban said. “And I think he’s starting to get more and more respect from the other players because of the way he plays.
“But with every scrimmage we had, he did really well and I thought he did well today.”
Young wasn’t the only underclassman to stand out during the spring game, which saw a number of veterans sidelined by injuries, including starting wide receiver John Metchie, defensive defender Malachi Moore and offensive lineman Emil Ekiyor.
Freshman Agiye Hall – a four-star prospectus and the No. 3 receiver in the class of 2021 according to ESPN – caught four passes for 72 yards.
“He’s someone who we think has a lot of potential,” Saban said of Hall. “He makes a lot of disputed catches. He has great size and he has really explosive speed.”
Sophomore Jah-Marien Latham was named most valuable lineman. The 6-foot-3,285-pound defensive tackle completed the scrimmage with one sack, two quarterback rush, and four tackles.
Junior defensive back DeMarcco Hellams led all players with 12 total tackles. He also broke a pass and forced a fumble.
Saban said it was generally a “very productive spring” for the team.
“For the most part, we had no problems all spring, so we practiced a lot,” he said. “I’m not happy with where we are – we have a lot of work to do as a team.”
Alabama kicks off the season on September 4 against Miami in Atlanta.