The question when picking a college football team’s greatest players is how to balance their careers at the school against their professional careers. Lots of lists provide for a blend.
Here at Athlon Sports, we’re taking a different approach. This list of the best five Alabama quarterbacks of all-time includes only what the player did in a Crimson Tide uniform. That approach narrows the field, but it doesn’t mean it’s an easy task.
How, then, does one balance one incredible year or two against four years of high-quality play? Balance success with statistics?
A fool’s errand it may be and, if you check our list below, you may disagree with it wholly. Joe Namath isn’t included. Neither are Bart Starr or Ken Stabler or Jalen Hurts. But for our money, these are the greatest five signal-callers in school history.
Honorable Mentions
- Joe Namath (1962-1964)
- Greg McElroy (2007-2010)
- Jalen Hurts (2016-2018)
- Mac Jones (2018-2020)
5. Brodie Croyle (2002-2005)
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Croyle had the unfortunate distinction of arriving at Alabama during one of the lowest stretches of Crimson Tide football since the 1950s. It was hardly his fault the Crimson Tide weren’t elite, though, even still, he helped the team to 10-win seasons in both his first and last years.
Croyle ranks fifth in Alabama history in yards passing and fourth in completions despite only playing two full healthy seasons as starter. And something is to be said about a guy who would have otherwise have been a four-year starter, practically.
4. Jay Barker (1991-1994)
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Other quarterbacks have been more naturally gifted than Barker, but few are greater winners as the Birmingham native led Alabama to the 1992 national championship, the school’s first since 1979.
Alabama went 45-5-1 over the course of Barker’s four seasons, three of which he served as the team’s No. 1 quarterback. He threw only 24 touchdowns against 22 interceptions in his career and never even threw for 2,000 yards in a single season. Still, after his senior season in 1994, Barker finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting as his on-field general abilities had become so impressive.
3. Tua Tagovailoa (2017-2019)
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No player in Alabama history has thrown for more touchdowns than Tagovailoa as his 87 came in just three seasons. Only one other player who played just three seasons in a Crimson Tide uniform has more than 56.
Consider, too, Tagovailoa’s historic performance in the 2018 national championship as a freshman. He came off the bench to lead Alabama to a 26-23 overtime win over Georgia. The next year, as he took over starting duties, Tagovailoa finished second in Heisman Trophy voting after throwing for almost 4,000 yards with 43 touchdowns against just six interceptions. He finished 10th in Heisman voting his junior year as he was limited just nine games before leaving for the NFL.
2. AJ McCarron (2010-2013)
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The only quarterback in Alabama history to win back-to-back national championships, McCarron was a lock for this list. A three-year starter, McCarron capped his career by throwing for more yards in a single season than any Alabama quarterback ever had.
And while seven quarterbacks have eclipsed him on the singe-season yardage list - in large part because of the changed game over the last decade-plus - McCarron remains the school’s all-time leader in yards passing (9,019).
1. Bryce Young (2020-2022)
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Young’s 2021 Heisman Trophy-winning season remains statistically insane. He threw for 4,872 yards, including a 559-yard game against Arkansas, with 47 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Young won the Heisman with 684 first-place votes in the most lopsided win of the 2020s.
It’s not like that’s all he did in Tuscaloosa, either. He finished sixth in Heisman voting the next season, his junior year, by throwing for 3,328 yards with 32 touchdowns. Young ranks second in school history in career yards passing and second in touchdown passes, trailing only McCarron in the former and Tagovailoa in the latter.
More Alabama Football Rankings
- 10 Greatest Alabama Football Players of All-Time
- 5 Greatest Running Backs in Alabama History
- 5 Greatest Defensive Players in Alabama History
