Bryce Young delves into recruitment process, reveals when he received first scholarship offer

Coming out of high school, Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Bryce Young was rated the No. 3 overall prospect on the On3 Consensus. The one time USC Trojans commit also had offers from Georgia, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and UCLA.

Heading into the national championship, Young reflected on the recruiting process before ending up in Tuscaloosa. He said his first offer came from current Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury back before he got to high school.

“It was in eighth grade. It was the last day of eighth grade. I went out to Texas Tech, I had been in contact with them. It was from coach Kliff Kingsbury. He was the first coach to give me a scholarship offer in Lubbock, Texas, Texas Tech. It was a huge blessing being that young and get a scholarship offer. It was amazing. I was super excited.”

“It wasn’t really something that I was — I was expecting, something you hope for and dream about, but for it to be a reality that obviously you have to maintain during high school and make sure your grades are good and all that. But it kind of became a reality that I’d be able to play football at the next level. Kind of getting that confirmation, it was a tremendous blessing.”

Young began his high school days at Cathedral High School before transferring to Mater Dei High School. Throughout his four years, the On3 Five-Star Plus+ prospect threw for 13,520 yards and 152 touchdowns.

Kingsbury noticed how special Young would be before even seeing him play high school ball.

Alabama first offered Young in Dec. 2017 after he was on campus for an unofficial visit. However, he committed to USC less than seven months later and looked prime to play for the hometown Trojans.

At one point, it looked as if Kingsbury had the chance to be Young’s offensive coordinator. Before bolting off to the NFL, the former Texas Tech head coach had accepted a position with USC for the 2019 season. With Kingsbury being one of the first people to ever believe in Young, maybe the quarterback would have stuck with his commitment.

However, Young decided to make an official visit to Alabama in Sept. 2019 during a game weekend against Southern Miss. One day later, he decommitted from USC and flipped to the Crimson Tide.

The decision ended up working for Young, winning the Heisman Trophy this season. And with a win against Georgia on Monday, the quarterback will have two national championships during his two collegiate seasons.