Bryce Young proved size doesn’t always matter, inspiring quarterbacks everywhere

Watching the opening night of the NFL draft from home, sophomore quarterback Kingston Tisdell of Lake Balboa Birmingham High saw history. Bryce Young, at 5 feet 10 1/8, tied Kyler Murray in 2019 as the shortest first-round quarterback taken since 1967.

“I think it is inspiring,” said Tisdell, who’s 6 feet tall. “It doesn’t matter what size you are. It’s how you play the game.”

Size has always been considered a potential roadblock at every level and every position of football. College and pro recruiters will cross players off their list who don’t fit a particular mold, whether it’s linemen, receivers, tight ends, running backs and, yes, quarterbacks.

That’s why the selection of the former Santa Ana Mater Dei and L.A. Cathedral star as the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers has the chance to serve as a sport-changing moment.

“It’s really cool seeing somebody that size go that early,” La Cañada St. Francis quarterback John Sanders said. “He can beat out a 6-3 guy and it doesn’t matter.”

Young has shown every step of the way it’s instincts, work ethic, preparation, technique, intelligence, speed, quickness, judgment, arm strength and elusiveness that matter over size at quarterback.

It will open the door for so many more to dream about getting a second look even though they might not fit into the mold of the old generation of pocket passers.

Times are changing thanks to the reliance on the shotgun formation, which gives quarterbacks time to look over the field, see the passing lanes and make decisions about where to throw the ball or when to run because of their athleticism.

“It’s a new era,” Chatsworth Sierra Canyon quarterback Wyatt Becker said. “It shows size doesn’t matter at quarterback.”

Add 5-11 Russell Wilson to the group of quarterbacks changing the game, and you can see why high school and youth quarterbacks not blessed with height are excited.

Becker lives in Pasadena and got to meet fellow Pasadena neighbor Young and understands his intangibles.

“He’s a good dude,” Becker said.

One of the big tests for any quarterback is how they handle the pressure of a lineman bearing down. Or what happens when you get hit and are sent to the turf? It’s called toughness and durability. It can’t be taught. It has to be ingrained.

Tisdell showed that kind of resiliency during Birmingham’s double-overtime win over Venice in last year’s City Section Open Division playoff quarterfinals. He was getting nicked and banged up yet kept getting up. He completed a pass on fourth and 10 in the final minute to set up a game-tying field goal. He and receiver Peyton Waters led Birmingham to the City championship.

Now spring football has started. Tisdell has gotten bigger, stronger and faster. Every morning he wakes up and thinks about football.

“I think football is an all-day thought for me,” he said. “There’s not a moment I don’t think of it.”

QB Kingston Tisdell and receiver/cornerback Peyton Waters will try to lead Birmingham football to another City title this fall.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

With Waters coming back, Birmingham will be the clear favorite to win another City title in the fall. The team has a trip scheduled for Texas to experience Friday Night Lights near San Antonio.

“It’s going to be a great experience for the team,” he said.

Tisdell was back on the field this week preparing for the future and bolstered by the belief that there’s a path to success in football no matter your size.

“Size doesn’t matter,” he said. “It’s making plays with legs and arms and getting the ball out.”