Young earns Roy Kramer award as top SEC male athlete for 2021-22
Alabama quarterback Bryce Young became the second-straight football player from the program to win the Roy Kramer SEC Male Athlete of the Year award, following DeVonta Smith. (Courtesy Unv. Alabama Media Relations)
COMBINED REPORT
TUSCALOOSA – Alabama quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young became the second-consecutive football player from Alabama to be named the 2021-22 Roy F. Kramer SEC Male Athlete of the Year by a vote of the league's athletics directors.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey made the announcement on Wednesday.
“Bryce and Aliyah are the remarkable examples of what it means for a young person to fully participate as a student and as an athlete in the Southeastern Conference,” said Sankey. “Both Aliyah and Bryce were honored with their sport’s national player of the year award as they each held themselves to the highest standards of competitive excellence. We are proud of both and grateful for their outstanding representation of the Southeastern Conference and of the accomplishments they have achieved as members of their university communities.”
Young is the fifth Alabama football player to win the award and followed former teammate wideout DeVonta Smith, who like Young was the Heisman Trophy winner.
Young marks the 13th Alabama athlete to be recognized since its creation. Past winners include: 2020-21 Smith (football); 2011-12 Brooke Pancake (women's golf); 2010-11 Kayla Hoffman (gymnastics); 2009-10 Mark Ingram Jr. (football); 2003-04 Jeana Rice (gymnastics); 2001-02 Andree' Pickens (gymnastics); 1989-90 Dee Foster (gymnastics); 1988-89 Derrick Thomas (football); 1986-87 Cornelius Bennett (football); 1986-87 Lillie Leatherwood (track and field); 1984-85 Penney Hauschild (gymnastics); 1978-79 Reggie King (basketball).
Young, a native of Pasadena, Calif., was named the fourth Heisman Trophy winner in the history of The University of Alabama while earning consensus All-America honors. The sophomore turned in a record-setting season as the Crimson Tide’s first year starting quarterback, setting single-season marks for passing yards (4,872) and touchdowns (47).
Young was also recognized as college football’s Player of the Year by the Associated Press and The Sporting News. He captured the Maxwell Award, which is presented to college football’s top player, and claimed the Davey O’Brien and Manning awards, both going annually to the nation’s top quarterback.
Young led the SEC and ranked second nationally with 47 passing touchdowns and 4,872 passing yards while ranking third in the conference and seventh in the Football Bowl Subdivision in pass efficiency (167.5). He finished 366-of-547 passing with just seven interceptions across 15 starts. Young rushed 81 times with three more touchdowns on the ground.
In his first career start, Young finished 27-of-38 passing for 344 yards and four touchdowns, including a 94-yard strike to Jameson Williams. He set the Alabama single-game passing mark with 559 yards passing against Arkansas in November that included five touchdowns, zero interceptions while completing 77.5 percent of his passes. He passed for at least 300 yards in 10 games and tossed at least three touchdowns another 10 times, including three games with five touchdowns.
Young earned most Most Valuable Player honors in the win over the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game, recording three touchdowns and 421 yards through the air on 26-of-44 passing. He added three rushes for 40 yards with a score on the ground, while setting the SEC Championship Game record for passing yards and total offense (461) with his impressive performance.
The SEC Athletes of the Year Awards were first presented in 1976 for men and 1984 for women. The award was renamed the Roy F. Kramer Athletes of the Year in 2004 to honor the former Commissioner who served the conference from 1990-2002.
Young was joined by South Carolina basketball player Aliyah Boston as the Roy F. Kramer SEC Female Athlete of the Year.