With few fall games, JUCO defender went another route to earn offers by USC, SEC teams

A prospect’s journey to a college commitment can take any number of paths. For Carvers Bay High School product Byron Young, who now attends Georgia Military Academy, his journey started a few weeks ago when GMA defensive coordinator Rob Manchester sent practice film to a number of coaches he knows.

The result for the 6-3, 240-pound defensive end was a slew of offers from major colleges, including one from USC that came in Wednesday.

“We had practice and my film from practice blew up a little big,” Young said. “It got a lot of attention. And Coach Manchester started sending it out to coaches. It went from there. He sent it to Tennessee and they really liked it. It started with Tennessee.”

Other offers came in from Mississippi State, Virginia Tech, Auburn, Florida, LSU, Georgia and the one from the Gamecocks.

“They started talking to me last Wednesday,” Young said. “They told me they liked my film. Will Muschamp told me that. Then they called me this (Wednesday). I was very happy. That’s the hometown. I was very excited.”

Young also has chatted with Gamecocks defensive ends coach Mike Peterson.

“He said he loved my tape,” Young said. “My energy, my speed and the way I get off blocks.”

Young graduated from Carvers Bay in 2017 with no football in his immediate future. He was not picked for the Shrine Bowl or the Touchstone Energy Bowl North-South Game. He stayed home in 2018 and worked while taking three online classes. He then enrolled at GMA in January 2019. Last season Young recorded 31 tackles (11 for loss) and 7 sacks.

Georgia Military played a limited fall schedule during the coronavirus pandemic. Young will not play in a spring season with the Bulldogs, opting to graduate in December and enroll at his next school in January. That will leave him three season of eligibility at the next level.

Young said he plans to make his commitment at the end of this month. The NCAA’s recruiting dead period extends through the end of the year and prohibits face-to-face contact between recruits and coaches.

Young hasn’t visited any of the schools that have offered, so he has some due diligence to do.

“I’m going to have to do a lot of research myself,” he said.

USC has done well recruiting GMA over the years. Two current Gamecocks are graduates, and one of their 2021 commitments is Georgia Military cornerback Marcellas Dial.