:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71759489/usa_today_17292799.0.jpg "Alabama bowl game news: Bryce Young, Will Anderson to play in Sugar Bowl")
It appears that the No. 5 Alabama will have its two best players on the field for the Sugar Bowl after all.
ESPN's Pete Thamel reported on Friday that quarterback Bryce Young and outside linebacker Will Anderson Jr. will suit up and play for the team's Sugar Bowl matchup against No. 8 Kansas State on New Year's Eve. This will ostensibly be the final collegiate game for both stars before declaring for the 2023 NFL Draft, where they are expected to be taken at the top of the board.
This news comes after weeks of speculation over whether or not the two would elect to opt out of the bowl game and begin immediate preparation for the draft. With missing the College Football Playoff this season, several Crimson Tide players have decided to skip the bowl game for various reasons and it wouldn't have been a surprise to see Young and Anderson do the same. However, the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner and two-time Bednarik Award winner will indeed put on the Crimson and White one final time in the Caesars Superdome.