Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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30 MAY 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TYLER HORKA S ome conversations are nearly i m p o s s i b l e to h ave . So n n a Young had one of those with her son, Kedren, on the morning of March 12, 2023. Kedren was a junior at Lufkin (Texas) High School. He had gone out the night before and crossed paths with one of his old football position mates, Justavian Fann, a 2022 graduate of Lufkin and Young's running back mentor. Every- thing Young achieved on the field — including breaking the all-time school record for career rushing yards, an ac- colade that helped him get recruited by and signed with Notre Dame — he ad- mittedly owed at least in part to Fann for fostering him as a freshman. Any lingering adoration from protégé to preceptor must be paid in prayer. It's as impossible as one of those unfathom- able conversations to say in person. Fann stayed out longer than Young that night just more than two years ago, and he never made it home. He was fatally shot in a night- club parking lot. Sonna had to break the news to her 17-year- old son that his 19-year-old former teammate and friend for life — a life cut down far too short — was dead. "He was like, 'No, no — I saw him. There's no way. I just saw him at the party,'" Sonna told Blue & Gold Illus- trated. Just shy of four months later, it was Young's turn to start a strikingly sol- emn conversation with his mother. He found out via social media his class- mate and teammate, Nicholas Moore II, had overdosed. Moore was Fann's best friend, and he never got over the emo- tional trauma that impacts anyone who loses a loved one. It's trauma Young has carried with him to South Bend. Before Young ever recorded one carry as a senior at Lufkin, let alone scored his first collegiate touchdown to put the finishing touches on a 51-14 Notre Dame victory over Navy at MetLife Stadium last October, he had dealt with the death of two of his closest companions. Every time he puts on the blue and gold, he does so with them on his mind. In his heart. Over his heart, he wears a chain necklace with photos of both friends in a locket. "I always try to keep them in my spir- its," Young told Blue & Gold Illustrated. "It hit me really hard. Two of my friends have already passed away? I couldn't stop crying. It's tough." 'THAT'S MY SUPERWOMAN' Young had a hole in his heart long before patching it up with the remem- brance of his buddies. He's never known his own father. Pe re n n i a l ly o u t o f t h e p i c t u re , Young's dad last saw his son on his first birthday. He was invited to his second but didn't show. For all of his life, he blocked out the reality of not having a father to fall back on. That's not easy for any child, especially the eldest of four siblings. It's on him to be strong. But Sonna said there were times when her son, stoic by nature, showed su- preme sadness. If the discussions about his deceased friends were the most dif- ficult ones she'd ever held with him, another in particular is right up there with them. "He broke down and let me know, he was like, 'You're the only one that loves me, you're the only one that genuinely is here,'" Sonna said. She was there, all right. Still is. For Kedren — and Andrew, Ajaya and Ajiah. All of them. Sonna worked multiple jobs to make ends meet. Clothing. Catering. Hairstyling. All in addition to her main line of work in the education industry. "We had tough times dealing with ev- erything, dealing with life in general," Young said, "but our mom did every- thing she could to make sure we were OK. She made sure we were OK before she was OK. I will never, ever forget that. And I will never, ever leave her be- hind. That's my superwoman." The best form of repayment to a parent is seldom monetary. Immeasurable debt is better served by making something of oneself. Young went from immense heartbreak in East Texas to putting on a golden helmet in northern Indiana at one of the most prestigious academic and athletic insti- tutions in the world. That's making something of oneself. That's repayment. "A dream come true," Young said. "She always tells me she's so proud of me and my path, where I came from and where I'm at now. The journey's obviously not over, but she's so proud of the man I've become." "Kedren has set the standard, and that's a blessing," Sonna added. "His siblings want to be great because of him. They want to go to college because they see him. That's something I can't give them. I can pour into them, but I can't give them everything. To have a brother that's already accomplished it, that means the world." TAKING NOTHING FOR GRANTED The memory of two friends helps drive sophomore running back Kedren Young "I always try to keep them in my spirits. It hit me really hard. Two of my friends have already passed away? I couldn't stop crying. It's tough." YOUNG