The emergence of freshman wideout Ja’Corey Brooks has given Bryce Young another reliable target. Brooks, a former five-star recruit from Miami, Fla. has appeared in all 14 games this season, but has seen his role increase in the Alabama offense late in the year.

In his first career start, Brooks caught four passes for a game-high 66 yards, including a 44-yard score late in the second quarter to give the Crimson Tide a 17-3 lead heading into halftime against Cincinnati.

“The touchdown with Ja'Corey, we saw one-on-one coverage,” Young said. “We made sure for me up front we had something else on. We liked our match-up and made sure that we got us protected for that. O-line did a great job of protection on that. Ja'Corey did a great job of catching and running and scoring. So happy to see C7 step up and all the rest of the guys step up.”

Young also spoke after the game about the work Brooks has put in behind the scenes.

“Yeah, everyone seems excited, but I see the work, day in and day out, and someone I have a tremendous amount of confidence in,” Young said. “So when I knew we were going there, I had all the confidence in the world, so I wasn't shocked or surprised. He's someone who has stepped up big-time throughout the entire year. Just happy for him and his offense. Whenever we get to put seven on the board, it's big-time.”

Brooks burst onto the scene against Auburn after Jameson Williams was ejected because of a targeting penalty. He caught two passes for 49 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown with 24 seconds left to send the game into overtime.

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