Alabama quarterback Bryce Young won Associated Press college football player of the year honors Thursday, finishing ahead of Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett.

Young, a sophomore and first-year starter, is the second Alabama player in as many seasons to be named AP POY, following 2020 winner DeVonta Smith, a wide receiver. Young received 42 of 53 first-place votes from AP Top 25 voters to easily finish ahead of Hutchinson, the runner-up, and Pickett. Alabama linebacker Will Anderson Jr. and Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud were fourth and fifth in the voting, respectively.

Young, Hutchinson, Pickett and Stroud will be in New York City on Saturday night as finalists for the Heisman Trophy.

Young passed for 4,322 yards and 43 touchdowns — three more yards and one more score than Pickett recorded — while leading the top-ranked Crimson Tide to the SEC 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.

“Settling in and getting to play in different environments, getting to be put in situations, naturally, makes you more comfortable as leaders,” Young told the 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, the 18th quarterback to win the award since it was established in 1998, threw for 421 yards against Georgia in the SEC championship game.

He said 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.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)