Notre Dame 2017 WR Commit Michael Young Previews Official Visit
When Notre Dame plays host to Stanford Saturday, three-star Irish wide receiver commit Michael Young of Destrehan (La.) High will get his first taste of game day in South Bend.
The 2017 three-star talent said getting to see his future home for the first time will be a feeling unlike any other.
“As a little kid playing football you always kind of dream about playing on a big stage in front of a big crowd with great fans and great people,” Young said. “The fact that that’s’ kind of coming true before my eyes, it’s just absolutely amazing. I think I’ll be excited when I see the crowd and the fan interaction and how players react to that. It’s a surreal feeling.”
At one point, Young didn’t know if his busy schedule would allow him to travel from Destrehan to South Bend, but he’s happy he found the time.
“I can’t even explain it,” Young says. “I didn’t even know if I’d have the chance to go because of how my schedule is, so the fact that I get to go for a huge game like the Stanford game is absolutely exciting. I can’t wait to get up there.”
Young committed to the Irish in July 20, and said it was the attractiveness of a Notre Dame degree that drew him to make the decision.
“It’s not a four-year experience, it’s a 40 year experience,” Young said. “Academics is huge in my household and we always talk about it day-in and day-out. With Notre Dame, it’s not just you graduate and you can have job opportunities in Indiana. It’s “oh you graduated from Notre Dame? You can have jobs in California, Louisiana, Florida, Texas, New York, everywhere. I think that put it over the top.”
According to Young, the Notre Dame coaches who recruited him were truthful the entire time, and that drew him in quickly.
“I was already close to the coaching staff,” Young said. “Coach (Autry) Denson and Coach (Mike) Denbrock made me feel welcomed and made me feel like they really needed me. They were honest with me from the beginning, and I gravitated toward that because you need that. You don’t need the sugar coating. You want a coach to be straight forward with you, so you can know what they expect.”
Young added that his commitment status hasn’t been impacted at all by Notre Dame’s struggles, but he has taken notice of some of the young Irish receivers.
“I know they’re a great group of guys that can easily turn things around,” Young said. “I believe in coach Kelly and the other coaches to get back things on track. Them losing or struggling at the moment doesn’t worry me at all. You know once you get there you’ll have the opportunity to get the ball and make plays. That’s evident when you see Equanimeous St. Brown. He’s having a fantastic season hopefully he can keep that up. Torii Hunter, CJ Sanders, the list goes on. Hopefully those guys have a great season.”