Bryce Young Awarded 2021 Heisman Trophy: Voting Results, Comments, Reaction

History was made Saturday night when Alabama quarterback Bryce Young was named the winner of the 2021 Heisman Trophy.

The 20-year-old won running away with 684 first-place votes and 2,311 total points to beat out Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett and Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud.

Hutchinson finished second with 954 points, followed by Pickett (631) and Stroud (399).

The Crimson Tide are the fourth program in history with back-to-back Heisman winners. Wide receiver DeVonta Smith took home the trophy last year.

Oklahoma (Baker Mayfield in 2017, Kyler Murray in 2018), Army (Doc Blanchard in 1945, Glenn Davis in 1946) and Yale (Larry Kelley in 1936, Clint Frank in 1937) previously accomplished the feat.

(USC also had back-to-back Heisman winners in 2004 and 2005, but Reggie Bush's trophy from the 2005 season was vacated because of a violation of NCAA rules for receiving gifts and cash payouts.)

Alabama is also one of five programs to have at least four trophy winners, joining Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma and USC. All four winners have come in the past 12 years—Smith (2020), Derrick Henry (2015) and Mark Ingram II (2009).

Young had the difficult task of replacing Mac Jones at quarterback for Alabama. Jones, who finished third in last year's Heisman voting, led the nation with 4,500 passing yards and a 77.4 completion percentage to help the Crimson Tide finish 13-0 and win the national title.

After playing behind Jones in 2020, Young took the reins of the offense and had no problem carving out his own path. He is second in the nation with 43 touchdown passes, fourth with 4,322 passing yards and completed 68 percent of his attempts.

There were a couple of close calls this season when it looked like the Philadelphia native had played himself out of Heisman contention. The first was against Texas A&M on Oct. 9, which is Alabama's lone loss of the season to this point.

Young threw for 369 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, but he only completed 28 of his 48 attempts in a 41-38 defeat.

In the regular-season finale, and with a spot in the SEC Championship Game on the line, he had his worst performance of the year against Auburn. He completed fewer than 50 percent of his attempts (25-of-51) for 317 yards, but his 28-yard touchdown pass to Ja'Corey Brooks with 24 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter tied the score at 10 and forced overtime.

Young then threw the game-winning two-point conversion to John Metchie III in the fourth overtime to secure Alabama's 24-22 victory over the Tigers.

In his final audition for the Heisman voters, he turned in arguably his best performance of the season when he threw for 421 yards and accounted for four touchdowns in a 41-24 win over Georgia to win the SEC title.

The Bulldogs were the top-ranked team in the nation and hadn't allowed more than 17 points in any of their first 12 games before losing to Alabama.

The victory moved the Crimson Tide up to No. 1 in the final College Football Playoff rankings. They won their second consecutive SEC title game, and Young established himself as the front-runner for the Heisman.

On Saturday, Young's status as the front-runner was confirmed by the voters, who named him the nation's best player.