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Paul Finebaum declares new Heisman Trophy front-runner: ‘I can’t believe I just said that’
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Paul Finebaum has been around a long time (sorry, just stating facts, Paul!). He’s seen a lot of surprising things over his years covering college football.
But, this weekend, he saw something that made his jaw drop yet again. That “something” would be the performance put on by Alabama QB Bryce Young, who made his first-ever college start in a 44-13 beatdown of No. 14 Miami in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon.
On Sunday morning’s edition of “SportsCenter,” Finebaum said Young is already the Heisman frontrunner after that strong start:
“Is that really his first start? I mean, this was a kid who last year played behind Mac Jones and didn’t get in very often, because there was no reason to put him in. Mac Jones was absolutely perfect. (Bryce) looked like he’d been there for years. He was simply unbelievable.
“It’s almost hard for those of us who have been covering college football for a very long time to think about after his first start at Alabama, he’s already the front runner for the Heisman. Again, I can’t believe I just said that, and it’s true.”
Young set an Alabama record, becoming the first quarterback to throw for 4 touchdowns in his first-career start. One of those was this 94-yard bomb to Ohio State transfer Jameson Williams:
.@_Bryce_Young throwin’ ?
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) September 4, 2021
Young finished the afternoon with 344 passing yards and 4 touchdowns. And, keep in mind, that came against a top-15 Miami team.
The sky is the limit for perhaps Alabama’s next great quarterback. Now, we’ll just have to see how this big Week 1 showing impacts Young’s Heisman odds.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
