Ranking Nick Saban's championship-winning QBs at Alabama: Heisman winner Bryce Young looks to join the club
Bryce Young has already made history as the first quarterback in Alabama history to win the Heisman Trophy.
He'll look to join a slightly less exclusive group in Monday night's College Football Playoff rematch against Georgia as the sixth Alabama quarterback under Nick Saban to lead the Crimson Tide to the national championship.
The run of those who have done so since 2009 include a few Heisman finalists, a current ESPN analyst, one player who transferred into Alabama and another who eventually transferred out of the program.
Here's how the Saban-era quarterbacks rank as Young looks to join the club:
1. AJ McCarron (2011-12)
McCarron won a program-record 36 games in his three years under center and is the only starting quarterback to win two Bowl Championship Series or playoff national championships. While his numbers were eventually eclipsed by more recent Alabama quarterbacks, his accomplishments put him at or near the top of the list of quarterbacks in the history of the program. Only the famous Iron Bowl loss to Auburn in 2013 — the "kick six" game — kept McCarron from making a run at three straight rings.
2. Jalen Hurts (2017)
Tua Tagovailoa did drive the Tide past the finish line in the overtime win against Georgia in the championship game. While he was pulled at halftime on college football's biggest stage, Hurts was responsible for getting Alabama into the playoff by tossing 15 touchdowns against one interception and running for 768 yards during the regular season. As a true freshman in 2016, Hurts was responsible for 36 total touchdowns and another appearance in the championship game; the Tide lost 35-31 to Clemson on a last-second touchdown. And while he finished his career as a Heisman finalist at Oklahoma, Hurts also played a huge role as the backup to Tagovailoa in 2018, including a memorable appearance in the SEC championship game against Georgia.
3. Mac Jones (2020)
Jones took over late in the 2019 season after Tagovailoa suffered a season-ending hip injury, and played well enough to ratchet up expectations heading into 2020. But absolutely no one expected Jones to have one of the most productive passing seasons in SEC and Football Bowl Subdivision history. In fact, there was some thought during the offseason that Young could grab the starting job as a true freshman based on the hype that came with his arrival on campus. Instead, Jones was a superb fit for the top cast of skill players to ever come through the program.
4. Greg McElroy (2009)
A two-year starter and the first title-winning quarterback of the Saban era, McElroy was also the only Alabama quarterback to post an unbeaten season before Jones and the Tide did so last year. At a time when passing numbers were less gaudy, McElroy threw for 2,508 yards as a junior in 2009 and completed 70.9% of his throws as a senior. But that 2010 team remains the only one outside of Saban's first season in 2007 to land outside the playoff or one of the New Year's Six bowls.
5. Jake Coker (2015)
Coker wasn't able to beat out Jameis Winston for the starting job at Florida State before landing at Alabama. He struggled terribly early in the 2015 season but was tremendous down the stretch, throwing nine touchdowns without an interception in Alabama's last five games and piloting the Tide to a shootout win against Clemson for the national championship.