WATCH: Bryce Young’s Historic Heisman Speech

Last year, I caught some grief following the 2020 quarterback preview for saying that I thought Young was going to come off the bench and deliver it. That he was a generational player capable of making throws that Mac Jones could not.

Well, I was half-right. Jones wound up putting it all together, and was phenomenal. I don’t think anyone saw that coming. Improvement? Absolutely. Heisman finalist? Shoe-in for NFL Rookie of the Year? Stop lying.

What was perhaps more predictable is the it that Bryce Young has — it just took a year to pay off. And Bryce Young has delivered when Alabama needed him the most, with some perfect tosses and runs and improvs.

For his season-long play (and often promiscuous stats in Alabama’s pass-first offense), Bryce Young took home Alabama’s fourth Heisman Trophy, and the first for a Crimson Tide Quarterback.

Ironic, isn’t it, that two skinny undersized kids connected last season in garbage time to begin the legacy of Bryce Young, and continue that of DeVonta Smith?

There was no way to predict in September 2020 that toss would be from one Heisman winner to another:

When it was his turn at the mic, the polished, smooth and media-savvy Young delivered an emotional, heartfelt speech, with his thanks ranging the gamut from of the expected (offensive line, receivers, God) to the less-so: his high school coaches, home town, UA’s conditioning and support staff, and even the other finalists:

Bryce is as earnest and affable a young man as you will find, and continues the long tradition of Alabama players anyone would be proud to call their son...much less their quarterback.

Congratulations to Bryce, and to everyone along the way who has helped him on this journey.

Roll Tide