Five-star Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei quarterback Bryce Young took an official visit to Alabama over the weekend and announced his commitment to the Tide on Sunday.

Young committed to USC way back in July of 2018, prior to his junior season at Mater Dei. Despite the commitment, schools continued to go hard afterYoung and no one more than Alabama.

The Monarchs had a bye this weekend and Young took advantage by taking a visit to Bama and decided to switch his commitment from the Trojans to the Tide.

“It was a really hard decision,” Young said. “I had a great relationships with the USC staff, they have been great with me this whole time and I have so much respect for coach Helton, coach Harrell and everyone else over there.

“For me, I just felt like this was the best thing for me. It definitely wasn’t an overnight decision. Me and my family have been praying about this for a long time and I really feel strongly that Alabama is where God wants me and I’m excited about all the opportunities I’ll have there.”

Young said there wasn’t just one factor that weighed things in Bama’s favor but several.

“My relationship with Nick Saban and Steve Sarkisian is really strong,” Young said. “They have been recruiting me heavily for a long time now and I'm very comfortable with both coaches. I love the football program and how committed everyone there is. It reminds me a lot of how it is here at Mater Dei, how focused everyone is on being great.

“I love the strength and nutrition program and just how they do their recovery. Coach Cochran is cool and a fun guy to be around but very good at what he does and I’m excited to work with him. I love the offense and I think it’s a great fit for me as well. I know I’ll always be surrounded by a lot of talent, not just at the receiver and offensive line positions but really everywhere. You’re really set up for success being the quarterback at Alabama.”

Young is an early graduate and will be able to enroll in time for Spring ball.

“There were no promises given and I know I have to compete but I’m coming in with the mindset of competing for playing time right away,” Young said. “I’m going to work my hardest and give myself every opportunity when I get there.

“Alabama is such a storied program with so much tradition, I just fell in love with it there. From the people I met, the staff, the players, the environment, it all made me feel like this was the right thing for me to do. Going in to the visit, I had a good idea what Alabama was all about and during the trip, that’s when I knew this is where I wanted to be and when I solidified my decision. I told coach Saban and coach Sark and they were all really excited and so was I."

Young was recently bumped up to the No. 4 player nationally by 247Sports and is having a big senior year. He’s excited to put recruiting behind him now and focus solely on Mater Dei football.

“Yeh it weighed on me a little,” Young said. “It was stressful at times and this was definitely one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever had to make. USC didn’t do anything wrong and I love the staff there.

“This was never about USC not meeting my expectations or anything, it was more about me feeling Alabama was too good of an opportunity to pass up. We were very thorough in our research and like I said, we prayed over this decision a lot. I have total peace about it right now and I'm really excited about the incredible opportunity, I'm grateful for it and I'm going to be ready to go."