Getty Paul Finebaum said Bryce Young does not have the ideal pieces around him at Alabama.
Paul Finebaum said he didn’t believe that the surrounding cast around Alabama quarterback Bryce Young was up to snuff. The SEC Network host called out both Alabama’s skill players and its defense for not providing the defending Heisman winner what he needs to dominate like his predecessors.
“The quarterback is just as good as anyone who’s been there — maybe better — but he doesn’t have the complements around him, Finebaum said October 13 to AL.com’s Mark Heim on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 in Mobile. “Therefore, Alabama hasn’t been effective.
“The offensive production, which is still high, doesn’t seem as fluid,” Finebaum said. “Look at the NFL rosters from a receiver standpoint. There are endless numbers of lost players from [Jaylen] Waddle to [Jerry] Jeudy to DeVonta Smith, [running back] Najee Harris.”
Finebaum said this year’s Crimson Tide team was “not as dominating. They make a lot of mistakes. That is evident by the 49 penalties. They don’t create turnovers like the great Alabama teams of Nick Saban have done,” he said.
Paul Finebaum Says Alabama Has ‘Slipped’
It seems getting to the national championship game last year and winning the SEC championship against the eventual national champion (Georgia) — a season after going undefeated and winning the national title — has left unrealistic expectations for Finebaum.
“It does seem like this program has slipped,” Finebaum said, describing a team that is currently undefeated under head coach Nick Saban, in his 16th season in Tuscaloosa.
Ahead of Alabama’s October 15 rivalry matchup against sixth-ranked Tennessee, Finebaum seems to portend doom and gloom for the Crimson Tide even though they are a 7-point favorite on the road.
If the 105th meeting between the two teams ends in a Tennessee upset, it could go down as one of the biggest games in the rivalry and land in the top 10 upsets in the series.
Saban’s Bryce Young Update Doesn’t Seem Hopeful
Young’s status for the Tennessee game was still unsettled heading into the weekend.
During his October 12 press conference, Saban was typically noncommittal about whether Young, who injured his throwing shoulder October 1 against Arkansas, would start after missing the October 8 game against Texas A&M. Jalen Milroe started in Young’s place.
“Bryce continues to practice a little bit more,” Saban said. “We’ve got him on a little bit of a pitch count just to wean him back into it and see how it goes. We expect him to do even a little more tomorrow. That’s all I really have to say about that.”
Saban told reporters after Alabama’s 24-20 win over Texas A&M that Young, who won the 2021 Heisman Trophy, wanted to enter the game in the fourth quarter but was denied the opportunity.
“I didn’t think he was in a position where he could go and effectively do his job the way he’s capable of doing it,” Saban said. “He’s made a lot of progress from that point so hopefully that will change here in the near future.”
The Alabama-Tennessee game is at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time on October 15 in Knoxville.