ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The hardest part of Bryce Young's transition to the Southeastern Conference has been the weather, as the winter clouds and overcast skies of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, have replaced the near-constant sunshine of his hometown of Pasadena, California.

"It was just weird going weeks in a row with straight rain," said Young, who enrolled early at Alabama as the top-ranked dual-threat quarterback in the country.

In comparison, the rest of the true freshman's shift to the Bowl Subdivision has gone smoothly. He's been amazed by the Crimson Tide's resources. He's been acclimating himself to the playbook. Young has adapted to the tempo of Alabama football as the team prepares for spring practice, which begins on Friday.

"There’s not a lot of time just sitting, wondering, ‘What am I going to do in Tuscaloosa?’ You’re always working, you’re always doing something," Young said. "I’m definitely blessed to be able to go to Alabama where we have the best resources in college football. I’ve just been trying to take advantage of it.

"It’s definitely a difference. It’s definitely different being in Tuscaloosa than the area that I come from. At the same time, there’s definitely positives about everything."

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At the Maxwell Football Club annual awards ceremony, where he was named the national high school offensive player of the year, Young discussed his decision to back out of his verbal commitment to Southern California and what awaits in his debut season at Alabama for what may be the last time this year — Nick Saban has historically not allowed true freshmen to speak to the media.

Unless, that is, the true freshman grabs a starting role. Young is a contender for the open job left vacant by Tua Tagovailoa, who traded in his senior season for the NFL, and held during the last month of the 2019 season by junior Mac Jones. While that experience seemingly gives Jones an early edge in the competition, each of Saban's past two primary quarterbacks, Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts, either started or played key roles as true freshmen.

"It’s just to carry out whatever the coaches want from me," Young said of the goals for his freshman season. "I just want to maximize myself and listen to my coaches. Really, for me, it’s whatever the coaches ask of me. I’m just trying to get better and push myself to be the best I can. Just listen to the coaches. They’re not going to steer me wrong."

He arrives with significant hype and potentially oversize expectations. Young threw for 4,528 yards and 58 touchdowns as a senior at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California, with another 357 yards and 10 scores on the ground. He ended the recent recruiting cycle ranked second nationally among all prospects and as the top-rated quarterback in the composite rankings compiled by 247Sports.com.

Mater Dei is a national powerhouse with a strong quarterback pedigree, along with a history of sending its passers to Southern California. In addition to recent Southern California record-setters in Matt Leinart and Matt Barkley, the Trojans' current roster includes former five-star Mater Dei product JT Daniels, who is expected to return from last year's knee injury to compete with Kedon Slovis for the starting job.

Young was verbally committed to USC for more than a calendar year — he committed to Clay Helton and the Trojans on July 25, 2018, made his official visit last June but backed off his commitment on Sept. 22, two days after completing an official visit to Alabama. He committed to the Crimson Tide the same day and enrolled on Jan. 6.

"I just wanted to do what was best for me, football-wise," Young said.

Alabama could offer continuity and security at a time when USC seemed headed toward a coaching change, though Helton was able to lead the Trojans to eight wins and secure his position for at least one more year, with several changes to his coaching staff.

"I felt that Alabama was the best fit for me," he said. "It was somewhat difficult facing the fact that I’m not going to be going to school 20 minutes away from my house. But at the end of the day, I just wanted to do what was best. It wasn’t really too big of a deal. It was, for me, whatever I could do to put myself in the best position."