Film Room: Bryce Young’s Effectiveness on the Ground
Film Room: Bryce Young’s Effectiveness on the Ground: It’s common knowledge that Bryce Young is a phenomenal athlete.
The current Heisman Trophy winner was a nimble passer at Alabama, frequently escaping defenders in the pocket and launching passes downfield.
However, Young has rarely used his legs to take off downfield and rack up rushing yards despite his pocket mobility. Even last year, this was a common criticism leveled at Young by Alabama fans: it was clear he had the rushing ability, but he wasn’t putting it to use.
Due to the fact that sack yards are subtracted from a quarterback’s rushing yards in college football, Young gained positive rushing yardage in only six of the fifteen games he played in the previous year.
Young’s legs were one of the biggest tales and surprises in Alabama’s 55-0 rout of Utah State in Week 1. It is unclear what led to Young’s lack of a run game last season.
Young gained 100 yards on only five carries and a touchdown, highlighted by a second-quarter 63-yard scramble.
The 100 rushing yards were easily a career record, with his previous best being 42 yards versus Tennessee in 2021.
Examining the below, we can see the context of several rushes made by Young against Utah State.
3rd and 12, 13:38 2Q
Alabama’s offensive formation on a third-and-long on Utah State’s side of the field featured four wide receivers and a running back in the backfield, while Utah State sent a five-man rush.
After the left half of the pocket began to collapse, Young had no choice but to switch to his right hand. His running back, Roydell Williams, hung around two yards past the line of scrimmage as a safety blanket while the rest of his wideouts went deeper routes downfield.
Young got 18 yards on the rush when he rolled out, noticed that the Utah State defenders were focused on one player, and then told Williams to block for him.
Young probably would have gone with the safer play when given the option last year by throwing the check-down pass to Williams. When compared to Young’s previous moves, this one was extremely bold.
1st and 10, 11:08 2Q
Alabama’s next drive began with a first-and-10 from its own 23-yard line, just minutes after the previous play.
Young faked a handoff to running back Jahmyr Gibbs to sell the run play, and then motioned wide receiver Kobe Prentice from the left to the right side so that he could go a deeper vertical route.
If both of Young’s deep receivers were covered, Prentice’s presence near the line of scrimmage would normally provide him an option for a check-down pass. With the line collapsing on his right, Young was unable to see Prentice.
When Utah State’s linebackers saw the fake handoff, they rushed up to the line of scrimmage to try to stop the play. This left seven Aggies rushing the passer and one trying to find his man.
Since so many Aggie defenders were caught in the middle after biting on the play action, Young was able to get the edge by scrambling left to avoid pressure from his right. It set up another touchdown for Alabama three plays later after a 63-yard scamper along the sideline.
1st and 10, 0:43 2Q
Alabama, in the midst of a two-minute drill with less than a minute till halftime, had advanced the ball to the Utah State 30-yard line.
Alabama’s formation had a running back in the backfield and a group of four wide receivers, with three receivers clustered to the right and one wide to the left.
Young’s offensive line did a wonderful job of keeping the pocket clean after the snap, but he couldn’t find an open receiver down the field. Running back Gibbs made a left-side flare for a swing pass, and his lone remaining defender in the middle of the field went with him.
Young gashed the Aggie defense for 22 yards on a fairly easy scramble since Gibbs’ guy was focused on the possible swing pass.
2nd and Goal, 13:41 3Q
Last night, Young scored the night’s simplest touchdown.
Alabama’s formation for a goal-to-go situation included two receivers stacked on the wide side of the field and a tight end and receiver on the short side.
All five Utah State defenders rushed the quarterback as the ball was snapped while all three receivers, the tight end, and the running back, ran routes. Two Aggies moved over to the left side of the field to cover a pair of receivers, while Utah State moved four defenders over to that side to face only three Crimson Tide offensive players.
Despite an additional defender covering the right side, Young was able to sneak in for a four-yard touchdown thanks to some excellent pass blocking from the offensive line.
Unsurprisingly, Young was left unguarded in each of these situations.
Because there were so many moving parts in Alabama’s attack, the Utah State defense decided to focus on stopping the run instead of trying to intercept Young while he threw. This allowed Young to make plays with his legs.
Even though it makes sense for opposing teams not to assign a guy to cover Young as a runner due to his infrequency in doing so in the past, Young’s rushing performance on Saturday has given the Alabama offense a new dimension.
Of course, Alabama’s SEC opponents will be tougher than Utah State was. It will be intriguing to see how Young’s rushing numbers develop after such a promising start, especially in their upcoming away game against the Texas Longhorns.
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