Bryce Young

Bryce Young (born July 25, 2001) is an American football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, setting the school record for most passing yards in a single game (559) and winning several player of the year awards in 2021, including the Heisman Trophy. Young was selected first overall by the Panthers in the 2023 NFL draft.

Early life
Young was born on July 25, 2001, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He later moved to Pasadena, California, where he lived for most of his adolescence. Young attended Cathedral High School in Los Angeles and transferred to Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California, in 2018.

As a senior, he was the Los Angeles Times Player of the Year and California's Gatorade Football Player of the Year after throwing for 4,528 yards and 58 touchdowns. He was also the USA Today High School Offensive Player of the Year. During his high school career he passed for 13,520 yards and 152 touchdowns and was a five star recruit ranked the nation's #1 quarterback prospect and second overall recruit. After originally committing to USC to play football, Young instead decided to play at Alabama.

Young has been friends with Houston Texans quarterback C. J. Stroud since the two went to rival high schools in Southern California. The two continued their friendship in college, and ultimately were selected with the first two picks in the 2023 NFL draft.

Freshman year
During his freshman year at Alabama, Young was the backup to junior quarterback Mac Jones throughout the 2020 season. On September 26, 2020, Young made his collegiate debut in the late third quarter against Missouri at Faurot Field. That night, Young went 5-of-8 for 54 passing yards with two rushing yards on four attempts. On November 21, he threw his first collegiate touchdown pass in a 63–3 victory over Kentucky. Young appeared in nine games in 2020, finishing the season with 156 passing yards and one touchdown.

Sophomore year
On September 4, 2021, Young made his debut as the Crimson Tide's starting quarterback. In a 44–13 win over the #14 Miami Hurricanes, he passed for 344 yards and four touchdowns.

On November 20, against Arkansas, Young threw for 559 yards to break the Alabama school record for passing yards in a game. The previous record was held by Scott Hunter.

Young won the Heisman Trophy following the end of the 2021 season, becoming the first Alabama quarterback to win the award. In addition to the Heisman Trophy, Young won AP Player of the Year, the Davey O'Brien Award, the Manning Award, the Maxwell Award, Southeastern Conference (SEC) Offensive Player of the Year, and was a consensus All-American.

Overall, Young passed for 4,872 yards, 47 passing touchdowns, and seven interceptions to go along with three rushing touchdowns in 15 games. He led the SEC in passing yards and passing touchdowns in the 2021 season.

Junior year
Young started his junior season off strong with 195 passing yards and five passing touchdowns to go along with five carries for 100 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown in the 55–0 victory over Utah State. In his junior year, Young led the Crimson Tide to an 11–2 record, including a 45–20 victory over No. 14 Kansas State in the 2022 Sugar Bowl. He finished in sixth in Heisman Trophy voting. He passed for 3,328 yards, 32 passing touchdowns, and five interceptions to go along with 49 carries for 185 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns in 12 games. On January 2, 2023, Young announced that he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2023 NFL Draft.

Professional career


Young was selected by the Carolina Panthers as the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Panthers, who originally held the 9th overall pick, traded their original first round pick, wide receiver D. J. Moore, and several other draft picks to the Chicago Bears to move up to the first overall pick. He signed his four-year rookie contract, worth $37.9 million fully guaranteed, on July 21, 2023.

On September 10, 2023, Young made his NFL debut in a Week 1 loss against the Atlanta Falcons, where he threw his first career touchdown to Hayden Hurst. He also threw two interceptions, both to Falcons safety Jessie Bates. In week two, Young threw for 153 yards and a touchdown to Adam Thielen in his home and primetime debut in a 20-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints. On September 22, 2023, Young was ruled out for Week 3 with a sprained ankle. On October 29, 2023, in Week 8, Young got his first win as he defeated 2nd overall pick C. J. Stroud and the Houston Texans 15–13. Young threw for 235 yards and a TD in the win. On December 17, 2023, in Week 15 against the rival Falcons, Young threw for 167 yards and led a 95-yard game-winning drive for a 9–7 victory. The win was the Panthers' second of the season and ended a six-game losing streak. The following week against Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers, Young had the best game of his rookie year to that point, throwing for 312 yards and two touchdowns, both to D. J. Chark. The Panthers lost 33–30. He finished his rookie season with 2,877 yards, 11 touchdowns and ten interceptions as the Panthers went 2–15.