Kenny Young

[John Morris]

I really like this kid.

I think he's going to turn into a breakout player for many years for us.



From a ‘chicken in a yard full of bulldogs’ to a potential starter, Ravens LB Kenny Young is growing up fast


By Jeff Zrebiec Sep 20, 2018 7
The​ education​ of​ an NFL​ rookie demands​ an unwavering commitment to moving​ forward,​ building on the​ lessons​ learned and the​​ work put in each day and seizing the next opportunity to get better. 23-year-old Kenny Young has already been around long enough to gain an understanding of how the process works.

But motivated by curiosity more than anything, the Ravens rookie inside linebacker used a rare free moment last week to take a brief, yet enlightening, look back. Young reviewed tape from his first practices as a Raven at the team’s rookie minicamp in early May.

“I was like, ‘Holy smokes.’ I’m 50 steps ahead of that now. I looked like a little chicken in a yard full of bulldogs trying to get bitten,” Young said Wednesday while seated at his locker. “I was frantic. I was all over the place. My mind was all over the place because it was a new system, new rules, new playbook, new guys I’m playing with, new things to ID. There was so much information that needed to be process. Now, I can laugh at it. Not that I was panicking back then, but I’ve seen the maturity as far as my understanding. That’s a positive step.”

Young has had to mature fast at every stage of his young life. When he was a young boy growing up in rural Louisiana, Young went to live with the parents of his best friend to ease the pressure on his birth mother, who had been evicted from her apartment. At UCLA, he battled a case of homesickness, the death of his grandmother back home and the responsibility of succeeding two future NFL linebackers in Eric Kendricks and Myles Jack to become an All-Pac 12 performer and a pro prospect in his own right.

Now, two games into his rookie season, the fourth-round pick could make his first career start Sunday against the Denver Broncos if C.J. Mosley is unable to go because of a knee injury. Even if Mosley plays — he returned to practice Thursday — Young figures to have a significant role. He was already pushing Patrick Onwuasor for the weak-side linebacker job before Mosley went down.

“I just have to keep going,” said Young who has 11 tackles and one sack in two games and has been on the field for just under 58 percent of the Ravens’ defensive snaps. “I think the game could slow down way faster for me. I can execute a little bit better. My technique could get a little bit better. I could be a better teammate to the rest of my guys. These are all things that I need to work on. I’m not where I want to be at. There is a lot of work that I have to put in. It will get done though.”

In some respects, Young was destined to be a Raven. He grew up in Boutte, La., about a half hour outside New Orleans, where the Ravens won their last Super Bowl following the 2012 regular season. Young looked up to Ray Lewis, the Ravens’ Hall of Fame middle linebacker, and listened to his celebrated pre-game pep talks as he worked out and prepared to play. Young’s adoptive father, Dominic Brown, was a former friend and rec-level teammate of Ed Reed, another ex-Ravens great.

It was Brown who first suggested that Young play linebacker after the youngster told him that he wanted to be in position to make the most tackles. It was a great fit. Young starred at John Curtis High in River Ridge, La., becoming one of the top linebacker recruits in the country. He then started for parts of four seasons at UCLA, amassing over 300 tackles to go along with 6 ½ sacks.

But Young’s story extends well beyond the football field. He’s made sure of that with his various interests, academic pursuits and commitment to his surrounding community. He studies sociology and was a member of the UCLA debate team. He closely follows world events and walked around the Ravens’ locker room Thursday wearing a sweatshirt that read, “Peace Now.”

“It demonstrates the type of person that he is,” said former UCLA coach Jim Mora, now a college football analyst for ESPN. “He never allowed himself to become a victim. He’s always been a person who is striving to be better. One of the reasons I believe he came to UCLA is because of the challenge of leaving what would’ve been a safe environment in the SEC, something he knew, and coming to Los Angeles. That is hard to do. But he sees everything as a challenge as opposed to a curse.”

Mora’s best memory of his time with Young didn’t come in a game or even a practice. It was at a ceremony last year in which Young was honored with the UCLA Academic and Student Services Success Award. The award was a testament to how far Young had come off the field after arriving in Los Angeles, which is about as different culture-wise from country Louisiana as any place you’ll find in the United State.

At first, Young grappled with coming home. The death of his grandmother and a cancer diagnosis for his biological father added to his dilemma. However, Young stuck it out and flourished on the field and in the classroom

“Knowing his background, knowing what he’s overcome, knowing how far from home he was, knowing he set these goals and he achieved him, to see him recognized off the field for the academic improvements that he made, that was awesome. He’s so much more than just a football player,” Mora said. “He’s very well-rounded. He wasn’t a typical football player hanging out with all the other football players. He did things to set himself apart.”

With a key AFC game against the Broncos only a few days away, Young’s focus on Wednesday was predictably on football. He wasn’t overly expansive of his upbringing and he downplayed some of the challenges he’s faced.

When informed by a reporter that his background indicates that he’s had to grow up fast, the linebacker playfully questioned whether the reporter was talking about the right guy. He then relented.

“Certain things happened in my life that forced me to grow up very fast from a mental standpoint and there’s still that to this day,” he said. “One of my biggest motivations is I’ll always have an edge to get over, I’ll always have something pushing me. It might not always be on the football field. It might be something off the football field, something that I’ve dealt with all my life that’s always pushing me. That’s what keeps me motivated.”

Young acknowledges that he has been shaped by both his biological parents and his adopted ones, along with his small-town surroundings. Young’s hometown was spared the brunt of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but the storm certainly took an economic toll on the surrounding areas.

With his birth mother struggling to keep things afloat, Young was taken in by the parents of his best friend, Amonte Brown, when he was 11. Dominic and Triche Brown were active in the local recreational sports scene and provided a loving and supportive environment.

“I know not to steal. I know not to lie. I know not to do some of the things that society preaches us not to do,” Young said. “I have a great family. A large part of me becoming who I am is my family and me deciding to take what they are teaching me and have me experience it. I chose to make the picture myself, paint it how I wanted to paint it in my own way. But more credit to the people that raised me and my family and friends that were there to support.”

Mora, who admitted that he grew agitated while watching his former player fall into the fourth round in April’s draft, believed that Young will develop into a “damn good” NFL linebacker and predicted that he’ll also become impactful in the Baltimore community. Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday that he already believes that Young is ready to be a three-down linebacker and praised the speed in which he plays with, even if it results in a few mistakes.

Never overly effusive with his praise of rookies, Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs has certainly embraced Young.

“I just like that he’s a young dog,” Suggs said. “When you have a young dog that can run like he can run and just go, everything else can be corrected. We like you if you can just go and run and make plays and wreak havoc. Everything else can be coached.”

An NFL.com draft profile of Young projected the former Bruin as a seventh-round pick or a priority undrafted free agent. Young didn’t get carried away with such projections nor is he getting overly caught up in the attention his early-season play has generated.

But as he leaned back in his locker Wednesday and stared straight ahead, another big time test of his on-field ability and growth just days away, Young seemed completely at ease.

“I think the round I was drafted in was a perfect opportunity. I think the team that I was drafted to was a perfect opportunity. Yes, we’d all like to go on the first day. I can’t speak for everybody but in my case, I just think you’re meant to be where you’re meant to be and I’m happy here,” he said.

“I honestly can say that, I love waking up and going to work and going to bed with the experiences of the day that I had here. I don’t know how it would have been somewhere else. I couldn’t tell you if I would’ve been happy. I could have been drafted higher and maybe made more money, but I might have been miserable going to work. I just think it’s a perfect fit, man. It was meant for me to be here and be a Baltimore Raven.”

(Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)

[Noelle18]

Might be the steal of the draft. Its amazing how the Ravens lately of done better in the later rounds.

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[DeltaRaven]

Might be the steal of the draft. Its amazing how the Ravens lately of done better in the later rounds.

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Explains why they amassed so many late round picks lately and have already traded away their 2nd next year!

[LC_Ravens_87]

Story on him from BR.com as well

https://www.baltimoreravens.com/news...ing-perfection

The rook is getting massive amounts of Pub. Hopefully he takes it in stride.

[JimZipCode]

What a great presence he is on the team. Super glad to have him.

These two pieces are great. Thanks guys for linking them.

[Ravenswintitle]

he's going to get a test this week, probably with peanut beside him

[GirlsKickButt]

I liked the kid's play on the field but now that I can see what type of man he is off the field, I'm routing for the dude. The UCLA Debate team?!? That's one smart guy!

I'm betting he starts Sunday, Mosley or no Mosley. I think next season, he's going to be a beast.

[arnie_uk]

Played well today. Think he will be key against NO against kamara in the pass game.

[Dragon King Onaga]

Played well today. Think he will be key against NO against kamara in the pass game.

I have a bad feeling that it's going to be baptism by fire, but that it will make him better in the long run.

[WNCRavensFan]

Played well today. Think he will be key against NO against kamara in the pass game.

Yes, he will. Perhaps his toughest assignment all season. Not just of Kamara but also Brees.

[arnie_uk]

I have a bad feeling that it's going to be baptism by fire, but that it will make him better in the long run.

Hopefully its him and not peanut anyway, who also played well today

[Terpsfan82]

Yes, he will. Perhaps his toughest assignment all season. Not just of Kamara but also Brees.

Maybe they give Levine a bunch of snaps?