Byron Young

STATS

YEAR (GP/GS)   TKLS  TFL     SACK    FF    PD   INT

2017: Gulf Coast Sports Academy (Ala.)

2018: Out of football

2019: Georgia Military College

2020: Georgia Military College

2021: (11/8)       46       11.5    5.5         0       2       1

2022: (13/13)     37       12.0    7.0         0       0       0

Total: (24/21)    83        23.5     12.5      0       2       1

HISTORY -- From College Profile

CAREER HONORS

2023 NFL Combine Invitee
2023 Reese's Senior Bowl Participant
2022 All-SEC First Team (Coaches)
2022 All-SEC Second Team (Associated Press)
SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week (at #17 Pitt, 9/10/22; at #25 LSU, 10/8/22)
East-West Shrine Bowl Defensive Breakout Player of the Week (vs. #20 Florida, 9/24/22)
2021 All-SEC Fourth Team (Phil Steele)

CAREER

Proved to be one of the nation’s top edge rushers in his two seasons on Rocky Top … A physical and quick defender who is poised for a promising NFL career … Committed to the Vols on National Signing Day in December 2020 as one of the top junior college players in the country … Prepped in South Carolina before going the junior college route … Played in 24 games with 21 starts and logged 83 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks and 22 quarterback hurries … Invited and participated in the 2023 Reese’s Senior Bowl and was selected to the 2023 NFL Combine.

 

2022 - SENIOR

Started all 13 games at the LEO position and led the Vols with seven sacks to go along with 12 tackles for loss and 14 QB hurries ... Ranked top five in the SEC with 42 pressures according to Pro Football Focus ... Tied for sixth in the SEC in sacks and eighth in tackles for loss … Capped his career off in dominant fashion, collecting three tackles and a game-high two sacks for a loss of nine yards to help the Vols beat No. 7 Clemson in the Orange Bowl (12/30) … Finished off the regular season with four tackles at Vanderbilt (11/26), including a 12-yard TFL in the first quarter ... Logged a career-high three TFLs as part of a five-tackle performance at South Carolina (11/19) ... Notched four solo tackles and a QB hurry on his Senior Day in win over Missouri (11/12) ... Made four total stops vs. No. 19 Kentucky (10/29) with 1.5 sacks for a loss of nine yards and one quarterback hurry ... Had two tackles and a QB hurry in the win over No. 3 Alabama (10/15) ... Led the Vols’ pass rush with five tackles and a career-high 2.5 sacks at No. 25 LSU (10/8), tying the most by any player in the SEC this season, and earned SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors for the second time this season ... Posted four tackles and logged a career-high four QB hurries in win over No. 20 Florida (9/24), including a key hit of UF QB Anthony Richardson that resulted in a UT interception on the final play of the game ... Made one assisted tackle and notched a pair of QB hurries in UT’s win over Akron (9/17) ... Was dominant in road win at No. 17 Pitt (9/10), notching four tackles, two TFLs, one sack and three QB hurries ... Named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week for his efforts in Pittsburgh, the first Vol to earn the honor since 2018 ... Started at LEO in the season-opening win vs. Ball State (9/1) and recorded one QB hurry.

2021 - JUNIOR

In just his first season on campus, became one of the top edge rushers in the SEC at the LEO position … Played in 11 games with eight starts in his first FBS season and started the final eight games of the year … Tied Jeremy Banks for the team lead in sacks (5.5) and TFLs (11.5) ...  Ranked second among UT defensive linemen with 46 total tackles on the year, including 20 solo ... Led the squad in QB hurries with eight … Ranked 15^th in the SEC in TFLs … Capped his junior campaign with his first interception and a career-high eight tackles and 2.5 TFLs in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl vs. Purdue (12/30) ... Had five tackles in the regular season finale vs. Vanderbilt (11/27), including a nine-yard sack that caused a turnover on downs in the fourth quarter ... Posted two tackles vs. top-ranked Georgia (11/13), including one sack for a 10-yard loss and one QB hurry ... Led the Vols with a career-high two sacks at No. 18 Kentucky, including a 12-yard QB take down that forced a turnover on downs in the fourth quarter ... Made a significant impact in the pass rush at No. 4  Alabama (10/23), logging his first-career solo sack and a season-high three QB hurries ... Finished the Alabama game with six total tackles ... Racked up seven tackles and two TFLs in second-straight start vs. #13 Ole Miss (10/16) ... Also had a pass breakup against the Rebels ... Recorded three tackles in his first career start vs. South Carolina (10/9), including a half sack and half a TFL ... Also had two QB hurries for the second straight week against the Gamecocks ... Logged two tackles, two QB hurries and first-career TFL in UT’s 62-24 victory at Mizzou (10/2) ... Recorded three assisted tackles as a reserve edge rusher in SEC debut at #11 Florida (9/25) ... Led the team with six total tackles in his FBS career debut vs. Tennessee Tech (9/18), helping limit the Golden Eagles to just 35 yards rushing … Ruled eligible by the NCAA for the third game of the year after not playing in the first two games. 

JUNIOR COLLEGE (GEORGIA MILITARY COLLEGE)

One of the top pass rushers in the junior college ranks who enrolled at Tennessee in January 2021 and turned heads during the spring as an edge rusher/outside linebacker … Considered the No. 1 weakside defensive end and No. 11 overall junior college player by 247Sports.com by way of Georgia Military College in Milledgeville … Top 20 junior college player according to the 247 Composite … Member of the ESPN.com JUCO Top 50 coming in at No. 47 … Tabbed a three-star prospect overall … Did not play a season in the fall of 2020 due to COVID-19 but did manage to practice … Tallied 31 tackles, 11.0 tackles for loss and seven sacks for a loss of 46 yards during the 2019 season … Notched three sacks in a game against College of Dupage on Sept. 22, 2019 … Committed to the Vols on National Signing Day in December and chose UT over multiple SEC programs … Inspirational story due to COVID-19, did not receive any Power Five offers until late fall of 2020 … Moved from his native South Carolina to the Columbus, Georgia, area and served as an assistant manager at Dollar General for approximately 18 months before earning a spot at GMC through a tryout … Coached at junior college by Rob Manchester.  

HIGH SCHOOL

Prepped at Carvers Bay High School in Hemingway, South Carolina, before moving to Georgia for junior college.

PERSONAL

Full name is Byron Young … Nickname is “B.Y.” … Born on March 13, 1998, in Georgetown, S.C. … One of the older players on the team at age 24 … Parents are Iseman and Joanne Young … Has one brother, Brandon and one sister, Janice Moore … Recipient of the Dr. John Range Athletic Scholarship ... Says his mom is his biggest inspiration … Models his game after Khalil Mack … Favorite movie is “The Longest Yard” … Favorite musical artist is Drake … Favorite food is pizza … Favorite TV Show is “Snowfall” … Majoring in communication studies … Twitter handle is @byron_97 and Instagram handle is @b.y.2raw_.

2022

defensive
TFL	QB HUR	TOT	TD	PD	SACKS	SOLO
12.0	14.0	36.0	0.0	0.0	7.0	21.0

2021

defensive
TFL	QB HUR	TOT	TD	PD	SACKS	SOLO
11.5	8.0	46.0	0.0	1.0	5.5	20.0

interceptions
TD	AVG	YDS	INT
0.0	4.0	4.0	1.0