Bryce Young flips to Alabama
USC won on the field Friday night, but suffered a huge loss off it on Sunday afternoon, as prized 2020 quarterback commit Bryce Young announced his decommitment.
Young (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei) posted the news via twitter, thanking much of the USC staff.
Young wrote: “I’d like to say a huge thank you to Coach Helton, Coach Harrell, Gavin, Coach Colbert, the rest of the USC staff for the opportunity that they have given me. I would also like to thank the USC fans and community for all of the support. I will always have love for the University of Southern California, and wish for nothing but the best for its players, coaching staff, and fans.”
But Young didn’t just decommit from USC, he made the next move of committing to Alabama.
Young had long been an Alabama target, and rumors of this eventual flip had been floating for some time.
This is a huge hit for USC’s 2020 recruiting class, as Young and DJ Uiagalelei (Bellflower, Calif./St. John Bosco) were the clear Nos. 1 and 2 quarterbacks in the region, and likely the two best prospects in the country. USC recruited both and was happy to get the commitment from Young. Now, with Uiagalelei committed to Clemson, the Trojans will need to look for another quarterback in this class.
Young was the only ESPN 300 prospect in the 2020 class for USC, and the Trojans now have just 11 verbal commitments.
USC’s quarterback situation has been nothing if not interesting this season. Heading into the year, it looked likely that JT Daniels would hold the position for this season and next, then potentially leave early for the NFL Draft. Now, with his injury in the first half of the season and the rise of true freshman Kedon Slovis to the starting spot, Daniels and Slovis could conceivably battle for the starting spot for three more years. Since last summer, that battle also looked as though it would include Young.
According to 247 Sports, the top uncommitted quarterback is CJ Stroud (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga), whose stock has been on the rise this past year. He holds offers from Baylor, Cal, Oregon, Utah, Washington State, and others.
It would be surprising if the Trojans don’t go after a quarterback in this class, as they are down to just three scholarship signal callers with Jack Sears in the transfer portal. And there is a chance that another upcoming quarterback battle this offseason could result in an additional transfer. Whether that incoming quarterback comes via the 2020 recruiting class or the transfer portal remains to be seen.
