Bear Bryant's great-grandson commits to Alabama

University of Alabama Football By The Numbers

The great-grandson of legendary University of Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant has committed to play for the Crimson Tide, ESPN reported.

Quarterback Paul Tyson of Hewitt-Trussville High School in Trussville, Alabama, made the announcement on Twitter.

"It's a family thing, but I definitely tried to look past that and just realize that I'm going to be here for four years and not let that decide where I go to college," Tyson told ESPN. “I let the fan out of me, basically. I visited all different places and stayed open and just wanted to go where home is, and that's Alabama.”

Bryant played at Alabama from 1933 to 1935, but he is better known as the head coach of the Crimson Tide program from 1957 to 1983, where he won a record six national championships.

That total was tied last season by current Tide coach Nick Saban, who convinced Tyson to play in Tuscaloosa. Tyson, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound pocket passer, also visited Duke, Kentucky, LSU, Michigan, North Carolina State and Tennessee before deciding on Alabama, ESPN reported.

The Crimson Tide has two solid quarterbacks already with Jalen Hurts and January’s national title game hero, Tua Tagovailoa, but Tyson said he was comfortable with the legacy he will be expected to uphold.

"Really it just came down to Coach Saban, Coach (Dan) Enos and the great relationships with them," Tyson said. "Them wanting me to commit now, me loving it down here. It's just home."

Perhaps Tyson can take inspiration from an old video of his great-grandfather addressing incoming freshmen at Alabama: