Bryce Young's Injury Hurts Alabama in Ways That Aren't Obvious: All Things CW

The All Things CW notes column by Christopher Walsh will appear in five parts this week, one each day leading up to Saturday's game against Texas A&M. 

This is ...

Take one  

Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban being vague about quarterback Bryce Young's status was predictable on Monday for a variety of reasons, including that he doesn't want to tip off Texas A&M about what to expect. 

It's due to numerous reasons including the nature of the shoulder sprain, Saban being coy with nearly everyone's injuries this season, and, well, all's fair in love and SEC football. The more Texas A&M has to prepare for Jalen Milroe, and now has to somewhat, the less it can focus on the reigning Heisman Trophy winner.  

However, Young's injury impacts Alabama beyond his ability to throw a football.   

Arkansas was a significant barometer regarding the Crimson Tide's status and growth, not only because it was the fist SEC road game, but the Razorbacks were the first division opponent faced in 2021 — i.e. a team Alabama faces every season.  

Plus, Sam Pittman's squad is pretty darn good despite having fallen out of the AP Top 25. 

Granted, last year's game came later in the season, the Saturday before facing Auburn, so the Crimson Tide was almost two months more into its development, which can be a lifetime in this sport. 

But it was the same coaches, the same quarterbacks, same schemes, with very different personnel, especially for the Alabama offense.  

Saban came off the field after the 42-35 victory last year and said "We left a lot of points on the board" after Young was 31-for-40, 77.5 percent, and had five touchdowns. His 559 passing yards were the second-most in SEC history (Mississippi State's K.J. Costello, 623 yards against LSU in 2020). He shattered the Crimson Tide mark of 484 set by Scott Hunter against Auburn in 1969.

Jameson Williams had eight catches for 190 yards and three touchdowns, including one for 79 yards. John Metchie III also gained 173 yards on 10 catches with a touchdown. 

One has to wonder if Arkansas got exposed by Alabama. The Razorbacks went on to beat Missouri and Penn State in the Outback Bowl, but the secondary has been porous this season. 

The Razorbacks were ranked 41st in the nation in pass defense last year when Young lit it up and really started his Heisman Trophy run. Coming into Saturday, Arkansas was 126th in pass defense, which is a little misleading as they're 83rd in pass-efficiency defense.

Young was carving up the Razorbacks, again, before he got hurt. The numbers (7-for-13)  didn't truly show it because for every big gain there seemed to be a corresponding play in which things didn't click.   

On the interception, the receiver was pulled off his route, and then tipped the ball to the defender. Dropped passes. You get the idea. Young had the Razorbacks on their heels, yet the passing game still only had about a 50-50 success rate.  

Normally, Monday's practice would have been spent cleaning up those mistakes, not just mentally, but physically. 

How does a passing game do that and improve? Usually it's with reps, and going through it again, and again, and again, and doing the play to the point that the receivers don't have to think about what they're doing. 

It takes the quarterback throwing the receivers the ball. 

Young is considered day-to-day. Mental reps? No problem. Physical ones? We don't know. Saban hinted that the quarterback wouldn't throw Monday, although it was a good sign during the game that Young did a fist pump off that shoulder in celebration when a teammate scored a touchdown.

Alabama's leading receiver at Arkansas, Kobe Prentice, is a true freshman. Second in yards gained, Isaiah Bond, also a freshman. Sophomore Ja'Corey Brooks, who set career marks against Vanderbilt, didn't have a reception against the Razorbacks. Neither did tight end Cameron Latu (although both were targeted). 

Junior Traeshon Holden got drilled a couple of times running routes over the middle. Coming off an injury, sophomore JoJo Earle played his first game of the season. Transfer Jermaine Burton is fifth in team receiving while Tyler Harrell has yet to play. 

True freshman Aaron Anderson remains out as well.

So who's going to throw a ball over and over to them this week? 

Practices are closed and Saban isn't going to tell us, which is his prerogative. He did say on Saturday that Young could have returned to the game, but didn't have the same zip on the ball, which indicates an injury that needs rest. 

So how much does Alabama scale back his throwing? Not just for Texas A&M, but Tennessee and Mississippi State before shutting him down during the bye week?

The quote by Saban from his postgame press conference that got the most attention came from when he was asked about the offensive approach in regards to Young's injury. 

“I don’t know, I was gonna call Jimbo [Fisher] afterwards and tell him exactly what we would do," he said, and then echoed the comment on Monday. 

But then Saban talked about the thing that may have been his biggest concern, what if Young can't really practice? That will affect both the game preparation for Texas A&M and the development of the receivers, and offense as a whole.

Look at this quote from Saban with the the part about how Young should have thrown the ball away taken out:

“You guys just see him throw the ball. He got us in the right protection every time so we could block their blitzes, which was critical ... He does a really good job of reading coverages, [is] accurate with the ball. If we get people open, he’ll get it to the right guy.”

Even if Young doesn't miss any playing time, some damage was done to the 2022 Crimson Tide. 

Christopher Walsh's notes column All Things CW appears every week on BamaCentral.