2020 Mac Jones or 2021 Bryce Young: which Alabama QB had the better season?
With the 2021 college football season wrapped up, Alabama quarterbacks Mac Jones and Bryce Young will be compared over the next seven months.
But with both quarterbacks as fresh in people's minds as they're ever going to get, now is the best time to look at each and get a definitive answer.
Which quarterback had the best college season?
Mac Jones vs Bryce Young: Who is the better Alabama quarterback?
In 2020, Alabama quarterback Mac Jones completed 311 of 402 passes for a 77.4 percent completion rate.
He threw for exactly 4,500 yards, 41touchdowns, and four interceptions en route to a victory in the National Championship. These numbers are outstanding, but they only tell half the story.
Jones had a robust offense around him. Former college teammates waddle' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>waddle" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith had big years on separate teams. Jones had both when he was playing at Alabama.
He also had Najee Harris in the backfield, acting to force linebackers to play close to help open up passing lanes for the receivers.
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As such, Jones had looser secondaries to contend with. If Najee Harris wasn't able to break a run, he had Smith and Waddle to lean on.
Waddle ended up being the catalyst for Alabama in many games, as defenses that were able to hold Harris and Smith to a respectable amount of production.
Put simply, Jones had an outstanding junior year, but he had help everywhere.
Meanwhile, Bryce Young was in his sophomore season in 2021. In 15 games, he completed 367 of 548 passes for a 67 percent completion percentage, which is ten percent lower than Mac Jones in 2020.
Young threw for 47 touchdowns and seven interceptions, according to Sports Reference. Young also won the Heisman trophy.
At the end of Bryce Young and Will Anderson’s press conference, Nick Saban stops them from getting up to say: “These two guys that are sitting up here, they’re not defined by one game.”
He finishes by stating how proud he is of those two players.
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At face value, a numbers comparison may go to Mac Jones. But looking at the vastly different rosters, it is impressive what Young was able to accomplish.
At the end of the day, Bryce Young essentially matched Jones' production with less reliable players and lost his top target in the National Championship game.
People may hold Mac Jones' season in higher regard (since he won the title), but Bryce Young had much more adversity in his season at a younger age.
What Young was able to accomplish was remarkable.