SOUTH BEND – In some ways, it’s not fair that Notre Dame football defensive end Bryce Young is there.
True freshmen need time to adapt and adjust and understand that this isn’t high school. What made them stand out on Friday nights doesn’t always work on Saturday afternoons. It takes time. It takes reps. It takes games. It might take years before they tap into that something that sends them toward special.
A four-star recruit who might develop somewhere down the line, Young did it in his first season.
Did it on special teams, where he became a terror with his ability to get to the right place at the right time and stick those long, lanky arms up and knock down kicks. Did it as a backup end on a veteran defense that needed him here and there when someone needed a break.
Did it from start to finish during the longest season in program history.
Coming into college, he was counseled by his father, Hall of Famer Bryant Young, plenty on what to expect as a freshman. How the season would be a grind. How there would be good times. How there would be tough times. How it all would take time.
Young never expected to experience all he experienced in 2024. Never expected to do what he did. He’s still a freshman as Notre Dame rolls through spring practice, but in football years, Young dropped that tag long ago.
He’s something else now. Something else when he lines that 6-foot-7 (6-7!), 260-pound frame at defensive end and prepares to wreak havoc. Something else that few get to in their careers. Ever.
Young is a beast.
That’s why it’s not fair that he’s there.
“He already is a beast, man,”…
Source link : https://www.southbendtribune.com/story/sports/college/football/2025/03/26/notre-dame-football-will-need-this-defensive-end-to-be-good-in-2025/82633601007/
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Publish date : 2025-03-26 21:58:00
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