Bryce Young

Bryce Christopher Young was born in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, and grew up primarily in Pasadena, California. He is the only child of Craig Young, a mental health therapist, and Julie Young, a former special education teacher who played college soccer at Cal Poly Pomona. His maternal grandfather was born in Mexico.

Young began his high school career at Cathedral High School in Los Angeles before transferring to Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California, in 2018. During his time playing high school football in Southern California, he formed a close friendship with fellow quarterback C. J. Stroud. As a senior at Mater Dei, Young threw for 4,528 yards and 58 touchdowns, earning honors as the Los Angeles Times Player of the Year, California Gatorade Football Player of the Year, and USA Today High School Offensive Player of the Year.

He concluded his prep career with 13,250 passing yards and 152 passing touchdowns. Evaluated as a consensus five-star recruit and the top-ranked dual-threat quarterback in the 2020 recruiting class, Young originally committed to USC before flipping his commitment to the University of Alabama in September 2019.

Young spent his 2020 freshman season at Alabama serving as the primary backup to Mac Jones. He made his collegiate debut against Missouri and threw his first college touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith in a win over Kentucky, earning a national championship ring as part of Alabama's undefeated season.

Taking over as the starter in 2021, Young produced one of the most decorated seasons in college football history. On November 20, 2021, he broke Scott Hunter's 52-year-old school record by throwing for 559 yards against Arkansas. He concluded the season with 4,872 passing yards and 47 passing touchdowns, leading the Southeastern Conference in both categories. Young became the first quarterback in Alabama history to win the Heisman Trophy, alongside winning the Maxwell Award, Davey O'Brien Award, Manning Award, and AP College Football Player of the Year.

In his 2022 junior campaign, Young threw for 3,328 yards and 32 touchdowns while rushing for four scores across 12 games. He became the only quarterback in Alabama history to record multiple 3,000-yard passing seasons. He concluded his collegiate career by earning Most Valuable Player honors in the 2022 Sugar Bowl against Kansas State, tying the program postseason record with five touchdown passes in a 45-20 victory, before declaring for the NFL draft.

The Carolina Panthers selected Young with the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft after acquiring the selection from the Chicago Bears in a major trade involving wide receiver D. J. Moore. Young made his NFL debut in Week 1 of the 2023 season against the Atlanta Falcons, throwing his first career touchdown pass to tight end Hayden Hurst. He secured his first professional victory on October 29, 2023, defeating C. J. Stroud and the Houston Texans 15-13, and concluded his rookie year with 2,877 passing yards and 11 touchdowns.

During the 2024 season under head coach Dave Canales, Young experienced an early-season benching behind veteran Andy Dalton before regaining the starting role in Week 8. Following his return, he guided the Panthers to consecutive victories over the New Orleans Saints and New York Giants, closing out the season with an overtime win against Atlanta to secure his position as the starter moving forward.

In 2025, Young achieved new career highs across passing yards, touchdowns, and passer rating. In a Week 11 overtime win against the Falcons, he threw for 448 yards and three touchdowns, breaking Cam Newton's franchise single-game passing record. Young led Carolina to an 8-9 record and its first NFC South division championship since 2015, making his playoff debut in the wild-card round against the Los Angeles Rams with a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown.