Bluechip QB Bryce Young de-commits from USC, flips to Alabama

Say it ain’t so. Bryce Young, USC’s quarterback of the future is no more. The Mater Dei dual-threat is now headed to Alabama.

High four-star Mater Dei quarterback Bryce Young has pulled the reverse Ricky Town. Or maybe the anti-Viane Talamaivao. He has officially flipped his yearlong commitment from Clay Helton’s 2020 USC football recruiting class to that of the vaunted Alabama Crimson Tide.

Young, the No. 32 overall recruit in the 247Sports Composite, announced his intentions to change shades of red Sunday afternoon on Twitter.

“I’d like to say a huge thank you to Coach Helton, Coach Harrell, Gavin [Morris], Coach Colbert, [and] the rest of the USC staff for the opportunity that they have given me,” Young wrote in a statement. “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.”

The development is not a surprise. There had long been rumors of a Nick Saban steal in the works, coupled with how pivotal of a prospect Young was for the Trojans. Now USC finds themselves in a bind, with time running out on the 2020 recruiting class.

Where do the Trojans go from here? It’s certainly complicated.

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On the one hand, Kedon Slovis’s youth offers the chance he could hold the position of USC’s starting quarterback for the next few years, lessening the importance of the Trojans immediately replacing Young’s commitment with an elite prospect. But Slovis just left the most recent game due to injury and it’s anyone’s bet if he, Matt Fink or JT Daniels will look like the presumptive starter a year from now.

It’s most likely too late to get back into the DJ Uiagalelei sweepstakes. The 2020 St. John Bosco quarterback has been committed to defending national champion Clemson since the summer. The highest ranked uncommitted quarterback is 11th-ranked pro-style prospect CJ Stroud of Rancho Cucamonga, but he lacks a USC offer.

It makes the 2021 class the most plausible answer, especially with a pair of local bluechip quarterbacks: five-star Jake Garcia out of Narbonne and four-star Miller Moss of Bishop Alemany. Neither have the Trojans atop their Crystal Ball predictions on 247Sports, but the de-commitment of Bryce Young certainly could change things.

Buckle up. The search for USC’s next quarterback is back on. Oh, and did we mention Young could conceivably start his first game against the Trojans next September? Yep. That’s a thing.