For the first time in collegiate football history, playing at the most star-studded position on the field actively pays. Just ask Alabama sophomore Bryce Young, the Tide's presumed starter for the 2021 season.
Young started three games last year and finished the 2019 campaign with 1,070 passing yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also ran for four scores.
While many expected Young to be replaced this off-season, head coach Nick Saban said after signing day that he planned to stick with his current offense design. "Bryce is going to play a lot this spring," Saban said. "He's done a good job of taking what we've done the last couple years and making some changes to it that make sense for him."
As a true freshman in 2018, Young appeared in 10 games and made two starts. He completed 59 percent of his passes for 2,036 yards, 13 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Saban has said many times that he believes players can improve upon what they did as freshmen, which means there's no reason why Young can't get better next year. Also worth mentioning is that Young has already been practicing with the team this spring.
If Young were to get injured or leave school, then graduate transfer Rafe Peavey would become the starting quarterback.
Tua Tagovailoa will be the starting quarterback for Alabama in 2018. As the Alabama Crimson Tide come down from their high of winning the College Football Playoff National Championship, the inevitable question (s) about who will be the starting quarterback for the 2018 season will snowball into a figurative powder keg ready to burst. While many fans and media members expect Jalen Hurts to be the starter, the reality is that no one knows for sure because there has never been a situation like this before where both players were equally talented and qualified.
As far as physical traits go, Tua is the obvious choice since he has been the starter his entire career at Alabama. He is also only 23 years old while Jalen Hurts is still just 25. Tua has the experience advantage here as well since he has already played in 13 games and started 11 times. Hurts on the other hand has only seen action in three games due to injury. However, what Hurts does have over Tua is his ability to make plays with his arm. In fact, according to ESPN, Hurts is the first player in FBS history with at least 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing.
In conclusion, Tua Tagovailoa is the clear-cut favorite to start at quarterback for Alabama in 2018. Not only is he the more experienced player but he also has proven himself as a winner throughout his career thus far.
This is a list of persons who have served as starting quarterbacks for the University of Maryland in college football. The Maryland Terrapins have produced a number of notable quarterbacks. The program was dubbed "Quarterback U" after winning three straight Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) titles from 1983 to 1985. They went on to win another title in 1990 under head coach Don Nehlen.
Maryland has had 13 players drafted into the NFL since the start of the professional league in 1922. Thirteen players from Maryland are included in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Three of them - Mel Hein, Ron Jaworski and Steve Spurrier - were selected as MVPs during their career with the Terps. Jaworski and Spurrier both played for the Washington Redskins. John Urschel is the most recent Maryland player picked in the first round of the NFL Draft. The Indianapolis Colts took him 14th overall in 2016.
Urschel played offensive line for the Terps before becoming an engineer at MIT. He is considered one of the top mathematicians in the field of mathematics for non-scientists through his work on algebraic topology.
Spurrier is the all-time leader in victories by a Maryland quarterback with 57. He also has the highest winning percentage among active coaches with more than 10 years of experience. His career record is 69-30.
Jr. Brian Robinson "I've worked my whole life for this opportunity," says Brian Robinson Jr., Alabama's starting running back. After four seasons as a backup for the Crimson Tide, Robinson will finally get his shot as the team's starter in 2021. During that time, he has been practicing and learning from veteran runner Josh Adams.
After graduating from Auburn High School in 2015, Robinson didn't immediately receive many Division I football offers. He ended up signing with Alabama after receiving several calls from coaches who saw him run for 1,200 yards and 19 touchdowns as a junior.
During his career at Alabama, Robinson played only a limited role because of injuries to Bo Scarbrough and Alvin Kamara. In 2018, he started three games before suffering a knee injury that required surgery. After returning last season, he was relegated to third-string status again this year when Najee Harris emerged as a star player. Despite not being able to compete in any games, Robinson said he still works out with the first-team offense during spring practice.
"I've worked my whole life for this opportunity," Robinson said. "I want to take advantage of it."
With Harris leaving for the NFL and Kamara moving on to New Orleans, there is a big opening for the Tide's running game in 2021.
Many people feel that 2018 will be the SEC's "Year of the Quarterback." Someone will be left off the All-SEC teams at the end of the season, with Drew Lock at Missouri, Jarrett Stidham at Auburn, Jake Bentley at South Carolina, Nick Fitzgerald at Mississippi State, Jalen Hurts/Tua Tagovailoa at Alabama, and Jake Fromm at Georgia. The league has had 12 first-team picks in the last 13 years, with Alabama having had nine of them and LSU having had three.
In 2017, Missouri's Drew Lock finished with 3,721 passing yards and 42 touchdowns against only 10 interceptions. He was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. Also in Missouri, Shane Morris started eight games at quarterback and finished with 2,894 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. A transfer from Ohio State, Justin Brackens also played some at quarterback for Missouri and ended up starting six games.
At Auburn, junior quarterback Auburn Taylor is coming off shoulder surgery but should be ready for fall camp. Last year, he threw for 4,030 yards and 39 touchdowns vs. only 11 interceptions. Junior Malik Willis started four games at quarterback for Auburn and finished with 1,947 passing yards, 16 touchdowns, and five interceptions.
At South Carolina, Connor Shaw returned from injury to start the final three games of the season for the Gamecocks. He completed 59 percent of his passes for 993 yards, nine touchdowns, and two interceptions before being injured.
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