YOUNG IS AP PLAYER OF YEAR
Alabama quarterback Bryce Young is The Associated Press college football player of the year, giving the Crimson Tide their second consecutive winner.
Young received 42 of 53 firstplace votes from AP Top 25 voters and 137 points to easily finish ahead of Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson (four first-place votes, 67 points) for the AP Player of the Year honor presented by Regions Bank.
Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett was third; Alabama linebacker Will Anderson Jr. was fourth; and Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud was fifth.
Young, Huchinson, Pickett and Stroud are the finalists for the Heisman Trophy, which will be presented Saturday in New York.
Later Thursday, during the “ESPN College Football Awards” show, Young also won the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s top quarterback, and the Maxwell Award as the most outstanding player in college football.
Other winners included Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis, who won the Bednarik Award as the nation’s top defensive player and the Outland Trophy as the most outstanding interior lineman, and Kenneth Walker III of Michigan State, who became the first Spartans player to win the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s best running back.
Walker, who finished sixth in AP player of the year voting, was also named Walter Camp player of the year.
A sophomore and first-year starter, Young passed for 4,322 yards and a school-record tying 43 touchdowns, leading the topranked Tide to the Southeastern Conference championship and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. The Tide will face No. 4 Cincinnati on Dec. 31 at the Cotton Bowl.
Young said he felt well prepared for the challenge of leading a program that has set the
standard in college football for more than a decade, but nothing speaks louder than performance.
“Settling in and getting to play in different environments, getting to be put in situations, naturally, makes you more comfortable as leaders,” Young told AP. “It’s always about what you do in the offseason, how you carry yourself, but any time you’re able to produce in big moments and you’re able to demonstrate a lot, that’s always a big part, as well. Because leadership is a lot about action.”
Young capped his season with an SEC championship game-record 421 yards passing against Georgia last week.
Alabama receiver DeVonta Smith became the first Alabama player to win AP player of the year in 2020. Young is the 18th quarterback to win the award since it was established in 1998.
Young said the high expectations are what drew him to Alabama and help motivate him.
“You want to live up to the pressure and to the hype of it
all,” he said.
Other awards handed out Thursday night:
Pitt receiver Tre Tipton won the Disney Spirit Award.
Stanford QB Isaiah Sanders won the Wuerffel Trophy for community service.
Pitt’s Jordan Addison won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver.
Michigan’s Jake Moody won the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s best kicker.
Cincinnati cornerback Coby Bryant won the Thorpe Award as the best defensive back.
Notable
USC receiver Drake London declared his eligibility for the upcoming NFL draft after three seasons with the Trojans.
London was named the Pac-12’s offensive player of the year this week after racking up 88 catches for 1,084 yards and seven touchdowns despite playing in only 7 1/2 games for the Trojans. He broke his right ankle in a game against Arizona in late October and missed the rest of the season.
Iowa State running back
Breece Hall is The AP Big 12 offensive player of the year for the second year in a row, while conference champion Baylor has the league’s top defender and coach. Baylor senior safety
Jalen Pitre was named defensive player of the year and second-year Bears coach Dave Aranda was also honored in the AP All-Big 12 team.
Georgia Tech’s running back depth chart took another hit when redshirt junior Jordan Mason announced he will enter the NFL Draft. Mason, who was the Yellow Jackets’ second-leading rusher with 439 yards, announced his decision on his Twitter account. Georgia Tech lost one of its top players when leading rusher
Jahmyr Gibbs announced on Nov. 29 he will enter the transfer portal.
Syracuse coach Dino Babers hired Bob Ligashesky as the Orange’s special teams coordinator, the team announced. Ligashesky spent the 2021 season at Bowling Green in the same position and before that was Illinois’ special teams coordinator from 2016-20.