Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MAY 2025 31 JUST GETTING STARTED The journey isn't over because it's hardly begun. The Youngs envision a lengthy Notre Dame career for Kedren, so much so that they actually requested a red- shirt season for him in 2024. Not so he could retain a year of eligibility and take it with him into the transfer por- tal. He'd already be long gone if that was his intent. Rather, the writing is on the wall with Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price back for another season as Notre Dame's one-two running back duo. Young scored against Navy then did not make another appearance for over a month, by design. He only played in four regular-season games, thus se- curing that sought-after redshirt. He played in three of Notre Dame's four College Football Playoff games in a special teams capacity, though. That doesn't happen if the coaching staff doesn't see a solid future for him; if the coaches don't see a solid player. He be- longs on the field, and his time is coming. If former Irish running backs coach De- land McCullough had it his way, in fact, Young's time would have already come. "I wanted to play him," McCullough told Blue & Gold in January. "I wanted to play this guy. I have full faith in him to play him. … He plays fast. He plays hard. He plays big. He plays strong." Former Lufkin head coach Todd Quick knows all of that. He had Young for four years. McCullough only had him for one before he took a job with the Las Vegas Raiders, but it doesn't take a full 12 months to recognize Young's got game. Just a frac- tion of that time is more than enough. Notre Dame discovered it early in the recruitment process. Quick found out right away, too. "Even as a young kid, as a freshman, he was so far ahead of everyone else," Quick said. "He's so focused on what he wants to do, and he's not afraid of working for it." What he wants to do is not necessar- ily be the next Love or Price but be the one and only Young. He's endured a lot to have an opportunity as grand as that at a place as grandiose as Notre Dame — why not make the absolute most out of it? That's absolutely his aim. "I'm just extremely blessed to be a part of this," Young said. "I'm not taking anything for granted." ✦ After Young scored his first collegiate touch- down in Notre Dame's 51-14 victory over Navy at MetLife Stadium last October, he took a moment to acknowledge the memory of two of his closest companions. PHOTO BY BILL STREICHER