Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com AUGUST 2019 23 BY LOU SOMOGYI M iddle-child syndrome often occurs with college football players. He is the figure who is not as well established in the lineup as those older than him, yet at the same time also tends to get over- looked because there is more in- trigue about the development of the younger talent behind him. That perfectly encapsulates Notre Dame 2019 junior wide receiver Mi- chael Young. Older receiving corps brethren Chase Claypool and Chris Finke combined for 99 catches last year. Head coach Brian Kelly has de- scribed Claypool as someone with f i r s t - ro u n d p o - tential in the NFL Draft, while Finke has been one of the team's eight S p r i n g / S u m - mer Workout Ac- countability Team (SWAT) leaders since the turn of the new year. M e a n w h i l e , a quartet of sopho- m o re re c e i v e r s — Kevin Austin, Lawrence Keys III, Braden Lenzy and Joe Wilkins Jr. — prompt curiosity on whether they could enhance Notre Dame's vertical game this season. Earlier this spring, Fighting Irish senior cornerback Troy Pride Jr., the fastest man on the team, was asked specifically about the sophomores and how they could aid the team speed. "The sophomores are fast — but you've got to count in Mike Young," reminded Pride of not overlooking the middle child of the receiving corps. "He's got some wheels." It was Young who separated him- self this spring in the first group with Claypool, now lined up in the bound- ary where Miles Boykin starred last season, and Finke, who is in the slot. As the X receiver on the field side, the 5-10, 190-pound Young is situated where his playmaking abilities can be best showcased. Two years ago, he was a relatively fragile freshman much like Lenzy and fellow Louisianan Keys were last year. Young flashed explosiveness in camp before hitting the proverbial freshman wall and seeing limited action. In the Citrus Bowl versus the home- state LSU Tigers, however, he snared a fourth-quarter touchdown pass that helped knot the score before Notre Dame rallied to a 21-17 triumph. Last year, Young had his moments again. Two of his receptions — a 66- yard catch and run at Wake Forest (Notre Dame's longest passing play of 2018) and a 47-yard score at North- western — were among the five lon- gest by Irish wideouts. Also, his 48- yard kick return in the fourth quarter of a 22-17 victory versus Vanderbilt provided a temporary boost. Still, his 125 snaps on offense last season tied Austin for fourth most among the receivers, way behind the trio of Claypool (846), Boykin (788) and Finke (646). It wasn't merely the physi- cal that held Young back as a fresh- man, and then even as a sophomore. "Very cerebral coming in, think- ing a little bit too much," Kelly said. "Worried about the peripheral and not focused enough on take care of yourself, take care of the basics of catching the football, turning upfield and doing your job. "I think he's now settled in to the level of confidence that he can do that every single play, so we're start- ing to see that." Not only was Young healthy throughout the spring — a bugaboo in the past — but he's learning to shake off the negatives, although a dropped pass on a crossing route in one open practice this spring had him screaming at himself quite audibly. "I'm my own worst critic," Young admitted. "Whenever something didn't go my way, I always got very down on myself. And then I looked around and saw what everyone else was doing — 'Oh, he did this great. Oh, he did that great. Oh, Coach is probably thinking he's better in this facet of the game … or I'm not as good as they want me to be.' I was putting a lot of that on myself and it was just taking my game completely down. "I wasn't playing football. It was, 'What should I do here? Should I do this, should I do that? Oh wait, let me line up first. My gloves — are they on the right hand?' I was thinking too much instead of just playing." Overall, he has attempted to main- tain a steadier demeanor this spring while recognizing that Boykin had only 18 career receptions entering his senior season last year, or that Finke (six catches as a junior in 2017) was the "overlooked" one entering 2018 before blos- soming. Young is also mindful that i t w a s n ' t u n t i l his junior season o f h i g h s c h o o l that he began to emerge as a major college prospect, especially with his explosiveness. "It's just under- standing that ev- erybody is going through the same things I've gone through," Young said. "I'm not in this alone. … They just always tell me, 'Just focus on yourself, focus on what you need to do, never get too high, never get too low, just go out there and compete.'" Young won't define what would entail a breakout year for him in 2019, but he knows part of it is the coaching staff having the confidence in him to be on the field at any time in any role. "I'm just a playmaker," he said. "You put the ball in my hands and I'll show you what I can do. I can be the speed guy. I can go get it on the post or go [route], I can be the intermediate guy — the hitches, the digs. I can be the short, quick guy to try to take it for 70. "At this point in my career I under- stand what the coaches are asking me to do. Whatever they need me to do I do … I can be the physical guy be the blocker — I don't have the stature for it, but I'll definitely get in there and give you a good fight." That's one way for Notre Dame's middle child at wide receiver to start drawing more attention. ✦ OVERLOOKED PLAYMAKER Michael Young is establishing himself as a mainstay in the receiving corps Young finished last season with seven catches for 138 yards and a score, but had two of the three longest receptions (66 and 47 yards) by a Notre Dame wideout. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA