Alabama Football: 3 takeaways from neutral-site takedown of Miami

1. Bryce Young is in line to be the next great Alabama quarterback

For the early part of Nick Saban’s tenure in Tuscaloosa, his offense took a backseat to the defense. Even as Alabama football won national championships, Saban’s quarterbacks were perceived to be game managers rather than dynamic playmakers in their own right. Some of that perception is unfair, but in recent years it has dissipated entirely.

A string of quarterbacks — from Jalen Hurts to Tua Tagovailoa to Mac Jones — has altered the perception of Alabama passers from replacement-level talents to transcendent stars. Bryce Young looks ready to follow in the footsteps of his immediate predecessors and etch his name into the record books.

Facing a Miami defense that ranked middle of the road last season against the pass in his first career start, Young posted a quarterback rating of 181.8 and finished with 344 passing yards and four touchdowns through the air. He effortlessly hit open receivers throughout the game, connecting with nine different targets by the final gun.

We have yet to see Young square off in any substantive fashion against SEC opposition. If he maintains the performance level he showed against Miami in the season opener, though, there is no reason to think that Young represents any dropoff in quarterback play. For the rest of the country, that means one of the least experienced offenses is anything but an albatross around Big Al’s neck.