Farewell to Bryce Young
As time expired in the 87th Iron Bowl, Bryce Young was beginning to make his rounds on the bench, dapping up teammates and hugging coaches. He hasn't said anything publicly, but the world seems to already know that that was his last game in an Alabama jersey.
Young's exit from the stadium was a joyous moment for him and the fans that remained standing in the rain. He waved goodbye as he jogged into the tunnel, taking in the cheers from a Bryant-Denny home crowd one last time.
The Iron Bowl victory was absolutely Young's last game in Bryant-Denny Stadium. It was more than likely his last game in Crimson and White, and likely should be. Young has given this team and fan base everything they can ask of a quarterback and giving them an appearance in a meaningless bowl game seems reckless given how much money he is set to make in the NFL and the state of his throwing shoulder.
Through two seasons as the starter and some garbage time in 2020, Young completed 65.6% of his passes for 8,035 yards and 75 touchdowns while only throwing 12 picks.
He was also a true dual-threat, something Alabama has grown quite accustomed to having at quarterback, rushing 136 times for 172 yards and seven touchdowns.
Tide fans are forever in debt to Young for the past two seasons. He took two teams that were rather unremarkable by Alabama standards to double digit wins in both of his years starting. As a first year starter, he came up just short of leading the team to a national championship victory. As a second, he played through an injury to his throwing shoulder for most of the season and came four points shy of a 12-0 regular season finish.
Young didn't have a stellar offensive line. In fact, he had a notably bad one. Young did not enjoy the benefit of the greatest wide receiver group of all time like Mac Jones and Tua Tagovailoa did. Young did not enjoy a rotating cast of super star running backs the way Jalen Hurts, Tagovailoa and Jones did.
None of that mattered to him. Consistently, Young pushed himself and his team to the heights of the three Alabama star quarterbacks currently playing in the NFL and did it with massively deficient talent compared to them.
Additionally, no moment was ever too big for Young. The image of him smiling under his helmet as he set out to move the Tide 97 yards down the field in just over a minute to tie the 2021 Iron Bowl will forever be imprinted on the memories of Alabama fans.
Young also went blow for blow back and forth with Hendon Hooker this season despite having a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder.
Perhaps the most illustrious mark on Young's outstanding resume is his Heisman trophy. For all the incredible talent that has come through Tuscaloosa, Young is just the fourth recipient of the award for the Crimson Tide and the first Alabama quarterback to ever win it.
That should be his legacy as fans reflect on his time in Tuscaloosa. He may not have won a national championship, but he made two years of what should have been bad teams very, very fun to watch. He should absolutely be heralded as the greatest quarterback to come through town.
So, Saturday's game was a fitting finish. In his final game, Young put on a show for the Alabama faithful. He completed two thirds of his passes for 343 yards and three touchdowns with one interception while also running five times for 48 yards and a touchdown.
And just like that, fans must say farewell to the best quarterback to ever don the crimson and white.