re: Bama Football Tidings

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The Truth - QBs... This is the smallest group so I'll give some insights on 2020 and going into spring. Bryce Young will be the starter, Paul Tyson 2nd team and Jalen Milroe third team.

Bryce had a very good year in practice and the coaches are very high on him and have confidence in him. He is a very accurate passer and has continued to learn the offense and get better at his reads. Bryce is also a very instinctive QB as he has a ton of experience passing in high school. Bryce can extend plays like Tua but not like Kyler, he has Tua's speed. He extended several plays during games and he is good at that. Sark put Bryce 2nd string the first day he got to campus and gave him a shot early at starting but it was never close. Mac was first string from start to finish which was expected by the players.

This offense is very difficult to run and it takes awhile to understand the reads. But, the offense is lethal once perfected! Bryce got some practice time with the 1s to be prepared if Mac got hurt. Bryce gained some good experience playing but the coaches wish he would have played more. The SEC schedule as Saban said hurt in substituting. Bryce threw 22 passes this year compared to Tua throwing 77 passes his freshman year.

Bryce's two areas of concern are being able to make the quick accurate reads from the pocket and durability. Bryce was sacked 6 times this year compared to Mac 13 with 400 attempts. This will improve as he gets better at reads. Bryce hurt his right shoulder twice this year when sacked and missed some practice time throwing. The worst was the KY game. Durability is always an issue at QB.

Paul has had two good years of practice as he is now the oldest scholarship QB. Paul is a very accurate passer and can make every throw. Paul's size really helps him make the RPO throws and read fast from pocket. Paul and Mac both won the Alabama scholastic award. Paul knows the offense inside and out. He spent the spring/summer and fall with the 2s and 3s and in the fall ran the scout team against the 1 offense. Mac, Bryce, and Paul got the same reps all year but the order never changed. Paul was 3rd string all year, but got reps with 2s. With COVID, the coaches got all three ready to play. The coaches felt like we could win with all three but Mac was the best.

The players and coaches have a lot of confidence in Paul as a player and as a leader on and off the field. Paul lacks experience and that is the biggest question. Paul missed the KY game with COVID and would have played and Saban said publicly that they should have got him in Arkansas. The other question is mobility which Paul is a pro pocket passer. Paul has to make up for extending plays with his feet by using his size to extend plays in the pocket and making reads quick.

Jalen is the best athlete of the three and could play multiple positions. He will get a shot at QB, but it will take him 1 to 2 years to learn the offense and reads. He is coming from a running offense. Tua, Mac, Bryce, and Paul have all come from a HS that passes. Jalen will be a very good scout team QB and learn a lot this year. He understands that he needs to learn and has a great attitude. He is not coming in thinking he is going to start but he will compete hard.

The coaches and players love our 2020 SABAN offense which is a Pro Style RPO offense. This is combining NEs offense with Kiffin/Sark. Obrien is a prefect fit to run it. Coach O'Brien has been quoted as he wants a QB that is an accurate passer, makes good decisions and knows the offense better than he does.

In comparing Bryce and Paul, we have two great options. Bryce is ahead with experience last year and an incredible HS career. Both are great passers. Bryce is more mobile. Paul is bigger and can see the field better. Bryce is more like Tua and Paul like Mac. Wow! The coaches are very confident in their QB room. I expect Bryce to start all spring and summer and into the season. I expect both to play in first two games and whoever starts at the end of the Florida game, will be your starter. Regardless who starts, we have to get both ready.

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Alabama is targeting former Texas cornerbacks coach Jay Valai job and the current expectation is that he will be hired, sources told AL.com. Valai would be the replacement for Karl Scott, who left the Tide to become the Minnesota Vikings’ new defensive backs coach.

Valai, a former All-Big Ten defensive back at Wisconsin, had been recently hired as the Philadelphia Eagles assistant defensive backs coach after spending last season at Texas and after a brief run as the cornerbacks coach at Houston.

Post will be updated.

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