Bryce Young joined the first team in the quarterfinals and was impressed during Alabama’s spring game on Saturday, scoring the most valuable player after completing 25 of 44 passes for 333 yards, touching once and not intercepting any.
Young, a former five-star prospect, was Mac Jones’ primary backer as a first-year student. He appeared in nine games, including late in Alabama’s victory over Ohio State in the national championship game.
Coach Nick Saban said after the shrinkage that Young played well all spring.
“We continue to work on him to have a presence out there that touches other people in a positive way,” Saban said. ‘And I think he’s getting more and more respect from the other players through the way he plays.
“But every time we had him, he performed really well, and I thought he performed well today.”
Young was not the only underclass to stand out during the spring game, which sidelined a number of veterans through injuries, including starting coach John Metchie, defensive back Malachi Moore and attacking linebacker Emil Ekiyor.
Agiye Hall, an early-registered first-year agent, a four-star prospect and the No. 3-rated receiver in the 2021 class, according to ESPN – got 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 controversial catches. He’s big size and he really has an explosive speed.”
Sophomore Jah-Marien Latham was named the most valuable linebacker. The 6-foot 3, 285-pound defensive tackle ended the kick-off with one bag, two quarterbacks and four tackles.
Junior defensive back DeMarcco Hellams led all the players with 12 tackles. He also broke a pass and forced a trick.
Saban said it was a ‘very productive spring’ for the team.
“We mostly 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 will open the season on September 4 against Miami in Atlanta.