Bryce Young took the field for what’s almost definitely his final game with Alabama in Saturday’s Sugar Bowl against the Kansas State.
Unsurprisingly, the former Heisman Trophy winner delivered a masterclass performance in the Crimson Tide’s 45–20 victory, leaving one final imprint on the college game.
After much speculation about how much he would play, or if he would even play at all, in the Sugar Bowl after Alabama missed out on the College Football Playoff, Young started the game and played in most of the Tide’s rout of the Big 12 champions. He started off slow, as did Alabama, but eventually turned on the jets, beginning with a touchdown late in the first quarter.
The scores continued to keep pouring in for Young, who ended the game with five touchdowns on 15-of-21 passing. He also racked up 321 passing yards, spreading the ball around to seven different receivers.
With the result already sealed halfway through the fourth quarter, Nick Saban removed Young from the game to a thunderous round of applause from the crowd in the packed Caesars Superdome. The scene certainly seemed like a curtain call for Young, who’s expected to be one of the top picks in 2023 NFL draft.
Though he hasn’t officially declared for the draft, evaluations of Young have differed due to his smaller physical frame. While the 21-year-old is listed at six-feet tall, 194 pounds, some analysts have questioned if he has the build of a professional quarterback.
What Young might lack in size and strength, he certainly has in raw talent, which he put on display in the Sugar Bowl. Those watching on Saturday made sure to point out Young’s spectacular showing to any of his remaining detractors with the NFL draft now looming in the quarterback’s future.
