Alabama's Rival Coach 'Not Sold' on Bryce Young: 'Hendon Hooker Has a Stronger Arm'

A college coach with experience playing Alabama told The Athletic's Bruce Feldman they would choose Ohio State's C.J. Stroud over the Crimson Tide's Bryce Young.

Hendon Hooker, the injured Tennessee quarterback whose draft stock has steadily been climbing, could out-throw Young, the coach added.

"If [Young has] got time, he's gonna kill you," the coach told Feldman. "His arm is good in person, but Hendon Hooker has a stronger arm."

During the 2022 season, the coach indicated that their team was able to change up plays to successfully counter Young's throwing techniques.

"He's at his best extending plays in the pocket, and he throws dimes," the coach said. "He also has a very good feel on touch and when to rifle it in there. We changed significantly (scheme-wise) before we played him. We ran Fire Zone and Cover 0 and really heated him up, and I didn't think he saw it that well when there're athletic 6'5" dudes running down your throat. I'm not sold on him. I'd take C.J. before him."

Young entered the 2023 NFL draft after leaving SEC powerhouse Alabama as the only quarterback in franchise history to throw for more than 3,000 yards in consecutive seasons. His name has been floated as a potential top pick for this draft class ever since he passed for 4,872 yards during his Heisman Trophy-winning sophomore season in 2021.

Young's position at the top of the draft has been called into question by his stature. His 5'10", 204-pound combine measurements would make him one of the league's smallest signal-callers.

The draft order waters have been further muddied by the emergence of other star quarterbacks like Ohio State's Stroud, who set a Big Ten record by recording the third six-passing touchdown game of his career in 2022.

That's not to mention Hooker, a precise passer being eyed by teams despite an ACL tear that has kept him from the field since late November, as well as other potential top-10 picks in Kentucky's Will Levis and Florida's Anthony Richardson.

As the NCAA coach's interview with Feldman shows, not everyone is sold on Young going at No. 1.