LB Dedrick Young talks Huskers commitment, future

Nebraska fans learned of Peoria (Ariz.) Centennial linebacker Dedrick Young's commitment this morning as he publicly announced his decision at a press conference.

However, the news came as no surprise to the Huskers coaching staff as Young actually informed them of his intentions almost three weeks ago. He knew Nebraska was where he wanted to go to college shortly after his official visit in late September. Then, following the coaching change, Young and his family decided last week to enroll early at NU in order to get a head start on his college career.

"I feel like a couple weeks after my visit is when I felt like that (Nebraska) was the place I wanted to be," Young said. "I committed, I don't know the exact date, but it was that week of the coaching change. I actually committed to the old coaching staff, but I just kept it quiet. Then I stayed committed (through the coaching change) and announced it today.

"I stayed (committed) because I liked the academic support and the Life Skills program there. Then just the top-of-the-line facilities and just the whole environment at Nebraska."

Since Young initially committed to Bo Pelini and his staff he said he was a little nervous following the coaching change, but those concerns were erased after Mike Riley and linebackers coach Trent Bray were hired since they had recruited him to Oregon State.

"I was a little nervous at first, but it helped that I knew Coach Riley and Coach Bray," Young said. "They offered me while they were at Oregon State so I don't think (the change) affected me too much."

Many Nebraska fans have followed Young's recruitment since the Huskers offered last summer, but few knew that he could potentially join defensive backs Avery Anderson, Eric Lee, and Aaron Williams as early enrollees in this class. In fact, Young didn't even know until last week when he decided to start the process of graduating early.

"Yes, I'm coming in early," Young said. "I actually just decided like a week ago to do that. The goal for us (early enrollees) is to come in and make an impact this spring. I think it helps a lot that everyone will have a clean slate coming into spring ball. We just have to come in and compete from there."

Young just capped off a terrific high school career where he amassed over 4,400 yards of offense and 55 touchdowns as a running back and sits as Centennial's No. 2 all-time leading tackler.

Now that Young - who is considered to be one of the top players in Arizona - has closed the book on his recruitment, he's excited about what lies ahead for him at Nebraska and had a message for Huskers fans.

"Coach Riley is going to do a great job, he's going to put the program in the right direction," Young said. "Oh, and go Huskers!"

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