Alabama Football's Bryce Young Wins Heisman In Tide Landslide

Bryce Young became the first Alabama quarterback in history to win the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night at the Lincoln Center in New York City.

Young, a sophomore from Los Angeles, became the second consecutive Alabama player to win the trophy that has gone to the nation's top college football player since 1935. Wide receiver DeVonta Smith won it last year.

And it wasn't even close.

"This is amazing," Young said at the podium and praised his parents Craig and Julie Young during a ceremony televised live by ESPN. "I'd like to thank my dad for always being there since day one and my mom for always having my back. I'm super grateful."

Young is second in the nation in touchdowns this season with 43 and fourth in passing yards with 4,322. He is fifth in passing efficiency at 175.5 on 314-of-462 passing.

"I couldn't be prouder," his father said.

The Tide's first Heisman winner was tailback Mark Ingram in 2009. Tailback Derrick Henry won the second one in 2015. Young backed up Heisman finalist Alabama quarterback Mac Jones last year.

Alabama won national championships in all three seasons after a player took the Heisman. The No. 1-ranked Tide (12-1) plays No. 4 Cincinnati (13-0) in a College Football Playoff semifinal on Dec. 31 at the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas.

Young won with 80 percent of the vote - 684 first place votes for 2,311 total points and took all six voting regions across the country. Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson was second with 78 first place votes and 954 points.

Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett was third with 28 first place votes and 631 points, while Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud was fourth with 12 first place votes and 399 points.

"It's a team award," said Young, who thanked his offensive line, receivers, running backs, defense as well as head coach Nick Saban and offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien.

"Bryce is kind of the calm in the midst of chaos," Saban said before the announcement during the ceremony. "He trusts that things are going to work for him."

 

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Guilbeau joined OutKick as an SEC columnist in September of 2021 after covering LSU and the Saints for 17 years at USA TODAY Louisiana. He has been a national columnist/feature writer since the summer of 2022, covering college football, basketball and baseball with some NFL, NBA, MLB, TV and Movies and general assignment, including hot dog taste tests. A New Orleans native and Mizzou graduate, he has consistently won Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) awards since covering Alabama and Auburn at the Mobile Press-Register (1993-98) and LSU and the Saints at the Baton Rouge Advocate (1998-2004). In 2021, Guilbeau won an FWAA 1st for a game feature, placed in APSE Beat Writing, Breaking News and Explanatory, and won Beat Writer of the Year from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA). He won an FWAA columnist 1st in 2017 and was FWAA's top overall winner in 2016 with 1st in game story, 2nd in columns, and features honorable mention. Guilbeau completed a book in 2022 about LSU's five-time national champion coach - "Everything Matters In Baseball: The Skip Bertman Story" - that is available at www.acadianhouse.com, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble outlets. He lives in Baton Rouge with his wife, the former Michelle Millhollon of Thibodaux who previously covered politics for the Baton Rouge Advocate and is a communications director.