NEW ORLEANS — Kirby Smart first noticed Bryce Young when the Georgia head coach was doing advanced scouting on Notre Dame and Indiana prior to the two teams playing in the College Football Playoff’s first round.
Then Smart noticed Young, a freshman defensive end, again when he recorded the first solo sack of his Notre Dame career when he took down Kurtis Rourke in the third quarter of ND’s 27-17 victory over IU on Dec. 20.
As Smart reviewed more film knowing that the second-seeded Bulldogs (11-2) will play seventh-seeded Notre Dame (12-1) in Wednesday’s Sugar Bowl in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans (8:45 p.m. EST on ESPN), he came away even more impressed by Young. (UPDATE: The game has been postponed to Thursday.)
“I was like, ‘Who is this guy, 30?’” Smart recalled of his first impression of Young. “He is long. He is athletic. He’s twitchy.
“And then while watching the game, he showed up more. It was like, he made some flash plays. He's rusher, he's edge. And then when I dug deeper into special teams, I'm like, this guy is phenomenal on special teams, his reach, his athleticism.
“I mean, I don't know about what he lists, but he looks bigger than he lists on paper. And he's just going to be a phenomenal talent. To do what he's done this early in his career just shows you how talented he's going to be.”
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The consensus among Notre Dame’s coaching staff has long been that the 6-foot-7, 258-pound Young will have a bright future. But it sure wouldn’t hurt if Young, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer and Notre Dame legend Bryant Young, starts shining a little brighter Wednesday night. The Irish need to replace the pass-rushing ability of defensive tackle Rylie Mills, whose season was cut short with a knee injury suffered in the Indiana game. Mills led the Irish with 7.5 sacks this season. Bryce Young has 1.5 sacks in the first 13 games of his college career.
“He played really, really well,” Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said of Young’s performance against Indiana. “He's played well all season. He's a difference-maker.
“To be a true freshman and playing at the level he's playing at, he's got some great genetics. Make sure you give Mom a shoutout too. But he prepares the right way and is performing at a high level, and he's a huge part of what we're doing defensively. And we're going to need another big game out of him as we get ready for Georgia.”
Young didn’t have much of a defensive role in the first two games of the season. He played just two defensive snaps in the 23-13 win at Texas A&M and didn’t play defense in the 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois. But special teams coordinator Marty Biagi found multiple roles for Young immediately. Since the season opener, Young has been a contributor on three special teams units: kickoff coverage, punt return/block and field goal/extra point block.
Young didn’t come to Notre Dame expecting to be a special teams ace. He didn’t play much special teams as a four-star recruit at Charlotte (N.C.) Christian. But Biagi helped Young realized how he could make an impact and gave him something on which he could focus.
“That definitely established a routine for me,” Young said. “It’s like being able to have a role and knowing that I can affect the game in that way. That definitely helped me. It carried over into defense. The way I prepared for that was the way I prepared for defense.”
Young provided pressure on multiple punters this season before eventually recording his first punt block against Army on Nov. 23. He also blocked a couple of field goal attempts against Miami (Ohio) and Georgia Tech.
Young’s opportunities on defense came for various reasons. It didn’t hurt that he enrolled early and went through spring football with the Irish. That was when he realized how much he didn’t know and had left to learn. But that didn’t scare him.
“I was like, man, there’s so much that I can grow,” Young said. “That motivated me even more knowing what I can be.”
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Some of ND’s early season wins were lopsided and provided Young a chance to play more in the second halves. Then Notre Dame’s injuries at either defensive end positions started to add up. Meanwhile, Young was developing and learning how to play in Notre Dame’s defense. As a result, Young has played at least 20 defensive snaps in all but two of the last 11 games this season. Those two exceptions were against the option offenses of Navy and Army.
By late October, Young felt comfortable in his role on defense rotating with RJ Oben and Joshua Burnham.
“I had a confidence, but it was still growing,” Young said. “I was still getting used to it. By the Georgia Tech game, I was like, OK, things are starting to slow down. It just got better from there.”
Notre Dame’s striving to find better on a depleted defensive line. The Irish are now without four key contributors on the defensive line since the start of the season: vypers Jordan Botelho and Boubacar Traore (knee injuries), Mills and defensive tackle Jason Onye (personal reasons).
Meanwhile, Georgia has an offensive line that’s getting healthier at the right time of the season and will be looking to set a tone in Wednesday night’s game. The same confidence Young gained in himself throughout the season, he’s gained in his teammates who’ve been asked to elevate their games.
Time to find out if the Irish have enough left in the tank to take down the SEC champs.
“I have a lot of trust in all the guys on the D-line,” Young said. “There’s no dropoff. We have a lot of talent in the room. Whoever’s out there is gonna do their job, that’s what I know. I’m excited.”
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