Bryant Colby Young (born January 27, 1972) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). A first-round

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

pick out of

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

, Young was nominated for the 2019 class of the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

, eventually being elected in 2022.

College years

Young was a three-year starter at Notre Dame, lettering all four years from 1990 to 1993. As a senior, he was an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n selection, and had 6.5 sacks and 67 tackles. As a junior, he was an Honorable Mention All-American selection and garnered 7.5 sacks. He graduated from Notre Dame in 1994 with a major in marketing.

Professional career

He was drafted by the 49ers in the first round (seventh overall) in the 1994 NFL Draft. Young made Honorable Mention All-Pro by The Associated Press in 1995. Young had his finest statistical season in 1996 recording 84 tackles, 11.5 sacks, and two safeties, while earning his first trip to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

. In 1997, although Young's sack total dropped to just four on the season, he was still a dominant presence on the interior line, helping San Francisco finish first overall in the NFL in total defense that season. Despite his drop in statistical production, he was still widely considered by many to be the best all-around DT in the NFL, despite teammate DT

Dana Stubblefield Dana William Stubblefield (born November 14, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). After graduating from Taylor High School in North Bend, Ohio, Stubblefie ...

being named the

NFL Defensive Player of the Year Several organizations give out NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards that are listed in the ''NFL Record and Fact Book'' and ''Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League''. The Associated Press (AP) has been givi ...

that same season. Young was leading the entire NFL at the DT position in sacks with 9.5 prior to his season-ending injury suffered on a Monday Night match-up against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

in week 13 of the 1998 season. The injury to Young's leg was so severe that he needed a metal rod to be inserted in the broken leg. Despite Young's devastating injury coming late in the 1998 season, he came back fully recovered in time for the 1999 season and recorded over 70 tackles, 11 sacks and a safety which earned him his second Pro Bowl. Young also received the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award for his fantastic play that same season. Bryant Young had 89.5 career sacks in his 14-year career with the 49ers, ranking him at 6th all-time in the NFL in career sacks for a player at the DT position, trailing only

Trevor Pryce Trevor Wesley Pryce II (born August 3, 1975) is a former American football defensive end and author who played fourteen seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Pryce played college football for the University of Michigan before transferri ...

Steve McMichael Stephen Douglas McMichael (born October 17, 1957), nicknamed "Mongo", "Ming" and "Ming the Merciless", is an American former professional football player, sports broadcaster, and professional wrestler. McMichael played college football for the U ...

Henry Thomas Henry Jackson Thomas Jr. (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and had a lead role in the film '' E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), for which he won a Young Artist Award and received Golden Globe ...

Aaron Donald Aaron Charles Donald (born May 23, 1991) is an American football defensive tackle for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Pittsburgh, where he received unanimous All-American honors, and ...

, and Hall of Famers

John Randle John Anthony Randle (born December 12, 1967) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings and the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was a six-time first-tea ...

and

Warren Sapp Warren Carlos Sapp (born December 19, 1972) is an American former football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sapp played college football at Miami, where h ...

. He also ranks third on the team's all-time career sacks list placing him behind only DE

Tommy Hart Tommy Lee Hart (born November 7, 1944) is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints. He played college football Morris Brown College. Early y ...

and DE

Cedric Hardman Cedrick Ward Hardman (October 4, 1948 – March 8, 2019) was an American Football defensive end who played for the National Football League's San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders and the United States Football League's Oakland Invaders. Hardm ...

. Bryant Young also owns the 49ers' franchise record for career safeties, with 3. Young retired after the

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

season, with the distinction of being the last active member of the

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

team. Young is a member of the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 1990s. Young became eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013. Young advanced to the semi-finalist stage in Hall of Fame voting in 2020. He was eventually elected to the Hall in 2022.

NFL career statistics

Coaching career

On January 21, 2010, Young was hired as the defensive line coach at San Jose State University. On January 14, 2011, Young was hired as the defensive line coach at the University of Florida. He later re-joined defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, his former position coach with the 49ers, when he was hired as the defensive line coach for the Atlanta Falcons on February 8, 2017. He spent two seasons (2017–18) in that capacity before he resigned to spend more time with his family.

Personal life

Young is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. Young is married to Kristin M. Young. They have six children.

References

External links

Atlanta Falcons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Bryant 1972 births Living people American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Atlanta Falcons coaches Florida Gators football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players San Francisco 49ers players San Jose State Spartans football coaches Ed Block Courage Award recipients National Conference Pro Bowl players Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees People from Chicago Heights, Illinois Sportspeople from Cook County, Illinois Coaches of American football from Illinois Players of American football from Illinois African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople