Young primed to take next step in new defense
From the moment he suited up for his first practice as an early-enrollee true freshman back in 2015, Dedrick Young hit the ground running on the fast track up Nebraska’s defensive depth chart.
After setting a school record for the most tackles ever by a true freshman (61) and earning a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, though, the linebacker’s career has seemingly been stuck in neutral the past two seasons.
Not to say that the Peoria, Ariz., native’s production has dropped, as he ranked second on the team with 80 total stops last year to become just the 36th Husker to rack up more than 200 career tackles (201).
But given how much promise Young showed in his NU debut, it’s hard not to wonder whether the toll of now playing under his third defensive coordinator entering his fourth season hasn’t hindered his progression.
After just one round of spring practices, former Husker and new inside linebackers coach Barrett Ruud said he’s seen no reason why Young can’t take a major jump in Nebraska’s new defensive scheme.
“He’s had a great spring, he really has,” Ruud said. “To me, it’s fine tuning everything. It’s detailing all your work. He’s a smart kid, he could play either (inside linebacker) spot if he needed to, he’s worked on his tackling, and he’s bought in, too.
“It’s hard - he’s had three coordinators in his career, and it’s hard when you keep changing schemes and changing responsibilities. But he’s bought into it, and now it’s about detailing his work.”
Having played in 36 games with 31 starts in his career, Young stands and the team’s most experienced returning player on the roster by a fairly wide margin. Defensive end Freedom Akinmoladun (29 starts) and safety Aaron Williams (22) are next on that list.
Not only that, Young said he came into spring ball having added roughly seven pounds of muscle and dropped nearly three percent body fat on his listed 6-foot-1, 235-pound frame.
Combine all that with a new position coach in Ruud who gained the immediate respect of the inside linebacker room because of his own football credentials as a player, Young said this offseason has gotten off to a smooth start despite a complete staff overhaul.
“I think Coach Ruud’s a great addition to the coaching staff just because he’s played,” Young said. “He can give his feedback and knowledge of the game and help us with some techniques that we haven’t learned before."
Above all else, Young said Ruud the entire defensive staff's philosophy of trying to create big plays without the fear of making mistakes has developed a notable uptick in confidence throughout the unit, especially within himself.
"Just go and shoot your gun," Young said of Ruud's message this spring. "Don't be afraid to miss on your leverage... That definitely allows you to play more free because you're not going to have someone out there yelling at you and you're not going to get subbed out just because you made one mistake."
Young might be the senior leader of the linebacking corps, but he’s got plenty of competition behind him pushing him for reps each practice.
Young said he’s embraced the loaded depth at his position as a challenge, using it as fuel to take his game to the next level.
“It’s football, so we know there’s going to be competition,” Young said. “But we’re all just helping each other trying to get better and each and every day. We know what comes with playing football, so we all know what’s happening out there.”