SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: GEORGIA VS ALABAMA

November 29, 2021

Bryce Young

Alabama Crimson Tide

Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Workout Day Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Bryce, while we wait on questions, please give us your general thoughts on the upcoming game against Georgia.

BRYCE YOUNG: Very excited to have this opportunity. Blessed to be in this opportunity to compete for an SEC Championship and to play against a really good Georgia team.

Q. Bryce, obviously this Georgia team has a really strong defensive front. Outside the O-line winning one-on-one battles, what can you guys do to kind of counter some of the things they do well defensively up front?

BRYCE YOUNG: Yeah, that stuff is going to kind of go into the game plan to get installed, the stuff that OB and Coach Marrone are going to look at. I have all the trust in the world in my offensive line. That's probably a better question for them, but I know schematically we're going to do whatever is best for the team.

Q. Bryce, have you seen a defense that looked anywhere near this good on film and just how confident in this offense are you that if executed properly you can produce on anybody?

BRYCE YOUNG: On film, they're very good, very well coached, have very good players that play with very good discipline, play with athleticism, intensity top to bottom, at all levels.

Individually and as a team, we're excited for the challenge. I have confidence in my guys. We all understand what it's going to take. We all know offensively how good they are on defense. So we know what it's going to take for us during the week in preparation and what it's going to take for us on Saturday. So we're all excited for the challenge.

Q. Bryce, I just wanted to ask for your thoughts on Jordan Davis as a player. He's gotten a little bit of pop in the Heisman discussion, and you have as well, and just how you feel about him as a player.

BRYCE YOUNG: He's a really, really good player. He definitely made a big impact on a lot of games, and it shows on film. He's a really good player, and overall it's a really, really good unit.

So we understand that. We all see what's on film. So for us it's about having the best week of preparation possible and us understanding the challenge ahead of us. It's on us to prepare, to push ourselves, and to work to be the best us we can be for Saturday. So we're all excited for the challenge.

Q. Wondering what your relationship is like with J.T. Daniels and how much, if at all, you talked to him recently. Obviously, you guys both coming from Mater Dei and now playing at SEC schools.

BRYCE YOUNG: I've known J.T. for a while. We've known their family for a while. That's someone that I'm close with and wish nothing but the best for.

You know, in a week like this, especially for what the game is and for what everything means, I'm on Alabama, and he's on Georgia. So for us it's not a huge amount of communication going on during the week because obviously we're both focused on our teams and we're both focused on our individual stuff.

But, yes, I definitely know J.T., but as far as the week goes, I'm just locked in on us as a unit, us as a team, and then us preparing throughout the week to go out and play on Saturday.

Q. I wanted to ask you about your impressions of Georgia's secondary on film in terms of the characteristics you see. Following up on that, what does Jameson Williams bring into your offense?

BRYCE YOUNG: Yeah, Georgia's secondary, again, another area that pops on defense when you watch the film. They've made a lot of plays. They've done a really good job on the back end. With corner safeties, everyone, it's a really good unit. So we understand that. We see that on film, and we know what it is going to the game. So we have to do all we can to prepare on our end for a game like that.

Jameson brings a lot, obviously, on the field, and everyone sees a lot that he can bring on Saturday. But what a lot of people don't see is the energy and the consistent energy he brings during practice, consistent energy he brings throughout the week and his willingness to work and that energy that he brings.

Obviously, there's a lot of impact that he makes that everyone can see, but there's a lot of stuff that he also does behind the scenes that is really beneficial for us offensively and as a team. I'm definitely happy that he's a part of our unit.

Q. I know during the bye week sometimes you look forward to future opponents. Did you have a chance to practice against any Georgia scout already? And just knowing that for a while they would be your opponent if you made it to this game.

BRYCE YOUNG: Yeah, there wasn't any looking forward for us. We played a tough SEC schedule. It was a big rivalry game last week, so it wasn't -- we were all in on the game last week. We have to flip the page from Saturday, and now it's a completely different team, completely different -- it's different for us on what we're learning about, what we're practicing.

It's a whole new week, and we understand we're playing a really good team in a game that obviously is really big. This week it's all about how we prepare and how we get ourselves ready.

Q. Georgia's defense is full of athletes that are really fast. What's different about your preparation against a team with that many stars?

BRYCE YOUNG: It's a very, very good defense from top to bottom. So we have to prepare. We know it has to be a great week of preparation. For us, it's just about executing the plan that Coach OB and the entire staff puts in, offensively, defensively. It's just about us executing that.

The preparation obviously is going to change week by week, and really what dictates that is just the game plan we have in. Offensively for us, it's what Coach OB has for the game plan. We're obviously going to -- we're going to make sure that we have emphasis and know what this game means against a really good team. So it's on us to have a great week of preparation.

Q. Bryce, you all played in such an emotional four overtime come-from-behind game on Saturday, where Georgia had a shutout against Georgia Tech and got to rest their starters. How much of a difference maker is that for you all to bounce back?

BRYCE YOUNG: I think really for us and for everyone we're never really focused on the past or anything that happens in past weeks because we know that's not going to carry over or mean anything for the next week. So for us, it's about taking things from last week and seeing what we have to improve on and get better at and flip the page.

Anything that's happened in the past is not going to help us or hurt us in the future. It's all about it's a new week, we have to turn the page and make sure that we're prepared for Saturday. So for us, it's not really looking at -- you know, comparing. You're looking at what happened in past weeks or happened in this week.

It's a new chapter. It's a new book for us. So we have to make sure we're ready this week and that's all we're concerned with.

Q. Why should you win the Heisman, and what do you have to do on this team to seal that?

BRYCE YOUNG: For me, any individual accolades or anything like that is all external factors, something I don't have control over. All I'm concerned about and and all we're concerned about as a team is this Saturday, the SEC Championship. That's all that's on my mind.