Bryce Young says there’s no replacing John Metchie, who injured his ACL in the SEC Championship Game. The Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback was asked Saturday about the absence of one of his top targets.

“I mean, Metchie is someone that you just can’t replace,” Young told reporters. “Losing Metchie was huge for us; that definitely hurt. It’s really tough.

“But as Coach is always saying, that creates opportunity for other people. And we had people step in the wake of that. We’ve had a little bit of time to adjust. And people have stepped up in games. Second half, SEC Championship and in the Cincinnati game, people stepped up and are going to continue to do that. And in practice, the same thing.

“It’s not something you can replace, someone like Metchie, just someone that you can just plug someone else in and get the same from. It definitely hurt.

“But at the same time again it creates opportunities for others. And I have tremendous confidence in everyone at the position, just being able to work with them throughout the week and seeing the work they put in.

“It’s tough, but as Coach said, it’s an opportunity for people — it creates opportunity when something like that happens. It’s just having the next-man-up mentality.”

While there’s no replacement for Metchie, Ja’Corey Brooks has emerged as a threat in recent weeks and looks to take advantage of the increased opportunities. Young praised the 5-star freshman for how he handled his lack of involvement earlier in the season.

“Ja’Corey stepped up tremendously last week, last game. I think he’s really growing into that role of being someone we can depend on,” Young said Saturday. “Someone who obviously at the beginning of the season wasn’t getting the reps he’s getting now.

“But that didn’t discourage him at all. He stayed ready, stayed focused and locked in. I think that’s really showing as of late. So when his name was called, he responded. And that’s always been a big thing for us, is having the next man up.

“So it’s been time for him to step up and he’s been doing a great job of that so far. And I have all the confidence in the world with him to continue to do that.”

Metchie’s absence due to injury is being cited as one of the reasons Alabama might struggle the second time around against Georgia. We’ll see if Brooks and others step up to help Young in the passing game.