Crimson envy has spread across the country.
Turn on ESPN and you’ll see Alabama coach Nick Saban’s face on your screen almost as much as all those Geico commercials. Flip through the NCAA football record book and you’ll see Saban’s six national titles at Alabama since 2009, matching Bear Bryant’s six.
The rich are definitely getting richer. Bama has a shot to win another national championship as the No. 1 team in the College Football Playoff.
While the Crimson Tide’s national championship history can’t be touched unless you count pre-1900 Yale, no Alabama player had ever won the Heisman Trophy before Saban’s arrival.
Somehow the bronze guy with the leather helmet stiff-armed the Tide until running back Mark Ingram captured the 2009 Heisman.
Since Ingram’s victory, Alabama has quickly made up ground as Derrick Henry won the 2015 Heisman and wide receiver DeVonta Smith captured the 2020 trophy with Tide quarterback Mac Jones finishing third.
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Quarterback Bryce Young became the Tide’s fourth Heisman winner Saturday night, making the race look as lopsided as an Alabama-Vanderbilt blowout.
My Heisman ballot was more Crimson colored than most: I not only picked Young first, I chose Alabama linebacker Will Anderson second.
My third pick was Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett, so don’t accuse me of being on Alabama’s payroll.
Most of the talk surrounding Young coming into the season wasn’t how many yards and touchdowns he would throw for as a sophomore. The Young buzz focused on his NIL (name, image, likeness) deals, independent of the university, that are reportedly worth about a million dollars after the NCAA opened the door for college players to profit before they, ahem, turn pro.
Whether this sets the stage to stuff future Alabama quarterbacks’ bank accounts remains to be seen. But Young has proven he’s worth every penny.
The positive publicity a Heisman Trophy winner can bring to a school is immeasurable. Just ask Baylor how much Robert Griffin III’s 2011 Heisman has meant to the university.
Not only is Young as good as advertised, he’s played a major role in the Crimson Tide’s 12-1 season. And he’s done it with poise and flair.
Young has completed 68 percent of his passes for 4,322 yards and 43 touchdowns with just four interceptions. In Alabama’s 41-24 win over then-No. 1 Georgia in last weekend’s SEC championship game, Young threw for 421 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 40 yards and a score.
Three weeks ago, Young propelled the Crimson Tide to a 42-35 win over then-No. 21 Arkansas by passing for a career-high 559 yards while throwing for five touchdowns for the third time this year.
Even when Young hasn’t had a great game, he’s proven his resilience.
Alabama’s regular season finale offered proof as he overcome a mediocre performance by leading the Crimson Tide on a late 97-yard drive, throwing a 28-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Corey Brooks with 24 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 10-10. The Tide beat Auburn, 24-22, in quadruple overtime.
I don’t like to place two players from one school on my Heisman ballot. But when I saw Anderson’s defensive statistics, I couldn’t help but choose the Alabama linebacker second behind Young.
His 92 total tackles are solid, but his 32.5 tackles for loss are off-the-charts extraordinary. The 6-4, 243-pound sophomore spent much of the season in opponents’ backfields, racking up 10.5 more tackles for loss than the next best guy, Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd with 22.
Last Monday, Anderson deservedly won the Bronko Nagurski Award as the nation’s top defensive player.
Pickett rounded out my ballot as he’s thrown for 4,319 yards and 42 touchdowns in Pitt’s 11-2 season heading into the Peach Bowl.
If I had chosen a third Bama player on my ballot, Saban might have to put me on payroll. But I’d still probably end up borrowing money from Bryce Young.