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Bryce Young (born July 25, 2001) is an American professional 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.
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 nearby 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.
On November 20, against Arkansas, Young threw for 559 yards to break the Alabama school record for passing yards in a game. He had five touchdowns in the 42–35 win. 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.
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 one touchdown 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 throwing for 2,877 yards, 11 touchdowns and ten interceptions as the Panthers finished with a 2–15 record. Young also finished with a passer rating of 73.7, a QBR of 33.2 and completed only 59.8% of his passes. Young had the worst passer rating under pressure of any quarterback in the league with 27.6. Young finished the season with the second worst touchdown percentage by a starting quarterback, only behind Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett, at 1.9%.
Ahead of the Panthers' week 8 matchup against the Denver Broncos, Young was reinstated as the starter due to Dalton spraining his thumb in a car accident. In his return, Young threw his first touchdown of the season, connecting on a six-yard pass to rookie Xavier Legette. He finished the game with 224 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions on 24-of-37 passing in a 28–14 loss. After losing to the Broncos, Young led the Panthers to victories over the New Orleans Saints and New York Giants, marking the first time the Panthers won consecutive games since 2022. Across those games, Young threw for a combined 297 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, completing 60.8% of his passes.
Young retained the starting role ahead of the Panthers' week 12 game against the Kansas City Chiefs. In a narrow 30–27 loss, Young completed 21-of-35 passes for 263 yards and a touchdown, marking one of his best performances of the season. Young continued to lead the team through close losses to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Philadelphia Eagles, both decided by a single score. Against Tampa Bay, he recorded a season-high 298 passing yards along with a passing and rushing touchdown. In week 16, Young finished with three touchdowns and guided the Panthers to a 36–30 overtime victory against the Arizona Cardinals, eliminating Arizona from playoff contention. Young had the best game of his career in the final week of the season against the Atlanta Falcons, passing for three touchdowns and rushing for two, along with a career-high 123.5 passer rating as the Panthers won 44–38 in overtime, marking Carolina's highest point total since 2017.
Dating back to his return to the starting lineup, Young threw for 2,104 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions, along with five rushing scores. He also led the Panthers to a 4–6 record after returning to the lineup, compared to a 2–16 record to begin his career. Young finished his sophomore season with a passer rating of 82.2, a QBR of 54.1, and an overall completion percentage of 60.9%, all of which were improvements from his rookie season. Following the season, head coach Dave Canales confirmed that Young would be the team's quarterback heading into the 2025 season.
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