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Bryant Young

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Bryant Young
refer to caption
Young in 2022
No. 97
Position:Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1972-01-27) January 27, 1972 (age 52)
Chicago Heights, Illinois, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:291 lb (132 kg)
Career information
High school:Bloom
(Chicago Heights, Illinois)
College:Notre Dame (1989–1993)
NFL draft:1994 / round: 1 / pick: 7
Career history
As a player:
As a coach:
Career highlights and awards
NFL record
  • Most safeties in a season: 2 (1996; tied)
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:627
Sacks:89.5
Forced fumbles:12
Fumble recoveries:7
Pass deflections:20
Stats at Pro Football Reference
Pro Football Hall of Fame

Bryant Colby Young (born January 27, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish was selected by the 49ers in the first round of the 1994 NFL draft. Young was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2022.[1] His bust was sculpted by Scott Myers and unveiled at the enshrinement ceremony on August 6, 2022.

Early life

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Young was born in Chicago Heights, Illinois. He attended Bloom High School in Chicago Heights, Illinois, where he excelled in football.

College career

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Young was a three-year starter at Notre Dame, lettering all four years from 1990 to 1993. As a senior, he was an All-American selection, and had 6.5 sacks and 67 tackles. As a junior, he was an Honorable Mention All-American selection and garnered 7.5 sacks. He graduated from Notre Dame in 1994 with a major in marketing.

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 2+3⁄4 in
(1.90 m) 		276 lb
(125 kg) 		32 in
(0.81 m) 		9+1⁄4 in
(0.23 m)		 4.96 s 1.70 s 2.87 s 4.40 s 28.0 in
(0.71 m)		 9 ft 1 in
(2.77 m)		 25 reps
All values from NFL Combine[2]

He was selected by the 49ers in the first round (seventh overall) in the 1994 NFL draft.[3] Young made Honorable Mention All-Pro by The Associated Press in 1995. Young had his finest statistical season in 1996 recording 84 tackles, 11.5 sacks, and two safeties, while earning his first trip to the Pro Bowl. In 1997, although Young's sack total dropped to just four on the season, he was still a dominant presence on the interior line, helping San Francisco finish first overall in the NFL in total defense that season. Despite his drop in statistical production, he was still widely considered by many to be the best all-around DT in the NFL, despite teammate DT Dana Stubblefield being named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year that same season. Young was leading the entire NFL at the DT position in sacks with 9.5 prior to his season-ending injury suffered on a Monday Night match-up against the New York Giants in week 13 of the 1998 season. The injury to Young's leg was so severe that he needed a metal rod to be inserted in the broken leg. Despite Young's devastating injury coming late in the 1998 season, he came back fully recovered in time for the 1999 season and recorded over 70 tackles, 11 sacks and a safety which earned him his second Pro Bowl. Young also received the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award for his fantastic play that same season. Bryant Young had 89.5 career sacks in his 14-year career with the 49ers, ranking him at 6th all-time in the NFL in career sacks for a player at the DT position, trailing only Trevor Pryce, Henry Thomas, Aaron Donald, and Hall of Famers John Randle, Steve McMichael, and Warren Sapp. He also ranks third on the team's all-time career sacks list placing him behind only DE Tommy Hart and DE Cedric Hardman. Bryant Young also owns the 49ers' franchise record for career safeties, with 3. Young retired after the 2007 season, with the distinction of being the last active member of the Super Bowl team.

Young is a member of the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 1990s. Young became eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013. Young advanced to the semi-finalist stage in Hall of Fame voting in 2020. He was eventually elected to the Hall in 2022.

He is also an 8-time recipient of the 49ers' annual Len Eshmont Award, which is the team's most prestigious award and is given to the Niners player who best exemplifies the "inspirational and courageous play" of its namesake. No other recipient has won the award at least thrice.[4]

NFL career statistics

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Legend
Won the Super Bowl
Bold Career high
Year Team GP Tackles Fumbles Interceptions
Comb Solo Ast Sacks FF FR Yds Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD
1994 SF 16 44 42 2 6.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
1995 SF 12 28 25 3 6.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
1996 SF 16 75 60 15 11.5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
1997 SF 12 45 39 6 4.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
1998 SF 12 53 42 11 9.5 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
1999 SF 16 40 36 4 11.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
2000 SF 15 44 32 12 9.5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
2001 SF 16 37 31 6 3.5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2002 SF 16 35 28 7 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2003 SF 16 35 29 6 3.5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
2004 SF 16 46 36 10 3.0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
2005 SF 13 36 32 4 8.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
2006 SF 16 52 41 11 5.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
2007 SF 16 35 31 4 6.5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Career[5] 208 605 504 101 89.5 11 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 29

Coaching career

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On January 21, 2010, Young was hired as the defensive line coach at San Jose State University.[6]

On January 14, 2011, Young was hired as the defensive line coach at the University of Florida.[7]

He later re-joined defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, his former position coach with the 49ers, when he was hired as the defensive line coach for the Atlanta Falcons on February 8, 2017.[8] He spent two seasons (2017–18) in that capacity before he resigned to spend more time with his family.[9][10]

Personal life

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Young is a Christian. Young is married to Kristin M. Young. They have six children.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "49ers' Young elected into Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2022". RSN. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  2. ^ "Bryant Young, Combine Results, DT - Notre Dame". nflcombineresults.com. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  3. ^ "1994 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  4. ^ "San Francisco 49ers".
  5. ^ "Bryant Young Stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  6. ^ "San Jose State hires Bryant Young". January 21, 2010.
  7. ^ "Muschamp fills out staff with new defensive coach hire Bryant Young | Gatorsports.com". Archived from the original on January 16, 2011. Retrieved January 14, 2011.
  8. ^ SteveInBrooklyn (February 9, 2017). "Bryant Young once wreaked havoc on the Falcons, and now he'll teach Falcons to wreak havoc". The Falcoholic. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  9. ^ "Bryant Young elected to Pro Football Hall of Fame". www.atlantafalcons.com. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  10. ^ "Falcons hire Jess Simpson as defensive line coach, Bryant Young stepping down". www.atlantafalcons.com. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  11. ^ Mercer, Kevin (August 6, 2022). "49ers legend Bryant Young honors late son, points to Christ during Hall of Fame induction". Sports Spectrum. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
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