5 Days 'till WCU Football Kickoff - #5 Connell Young

It's now 5 days until the kickoff of Catamount football on Saturday, August 31, 2019, against the Mercer Bears, in E.J. Whitmire Stadium, Cullowhee, NC

To help pass those long summer days, and hopefully get the Catamount faithful more excited about the upcoming season, and knowledgeable of the team members, we'll continue the 100-day football countdown each day until kickoff day.

Today we'll highlight a running back

#5 Connell Young


Class: Senior
Hometown: Greensboro, NC
High School: Dudlely HS
Height / Weight: 6-0 / 210
Position: Running Back

2019 (Senior): Named third-team preseason All-Southern Conference by Phil Steele.

2018 (Junior): Saw action in nine of the team’s 11 games on the year with seven straight starts at running back to start the year … Rushed for 529 yards and two touchdowns while adding 31 receptions for 334 yards and three scores … Was second on the team with a 58.8 rushing yard per game average … Eclipsed the 100 all-purpose yard mark five times … Posted 109 all-purpose yards with 97 rushing yards and 12 receiving in the season-opener against Newberry (Sept. 1) … Recoded his only 100-yard rushing performance with 105 yards on 14 carries with a TD, adding 66 receiving yards and a score in the win at Gardner-Webb (Sept. 14), finishing with 171 all-purpose yards … Hit 100 all-purpose yards for a third-straight game with 108 against VMI … Rushed for 72 yards with 38 receiving yards against Chattanooga (Oct. 13) … Posted a season-high 178 all-purpose yards with 76 rushing yards and 102 through the air with a TD at Mercer (Oct. 20) … Rushed for a touchdown against Wofford (Nov. 10) on limited touches (10 yards on three carries).

2017 (Sophomore): Played in eight of the team's 12 games on the season, making four starts at wide receiver each coming in succession at the beginning of the year ... Finished the year fourth on the team with 23 receptions for 214 receiving yards and three touchdowns ... Caught four passes for 30 yards and a TD in the road win at Gardner-Webb (Sept. 16) ... Recorded his second receiving score on three catches in the road win at The Citadel (Nov. 4) ... Recorded a season-high eight receptions for 76 yards against Mercer (Nov. 11) ... Scored his third receiving TD of the year on his lone reception - a one-yard strike - at FBS-foe, North Carolina (Nov. 18) ... Rushed 10 times for 63 total yards, carrying the ball a season-high five times for 23 yards against Samford (Sept. 23) .. Added three kickoff returns for 36 total yards and one punt return for four yards - ending the year with 317 all-purpose yards ... Credited with one tackle assist on the year coming at Gardner-Webb ... Selected to the preseason third-team All-Southern Conference by College Sports Madness.

2016 (Freshman): Played in all 11 games as an offensive reserve and on special teams ... Rushed 44 times for 155 yards and four touchdowns ... Carried the ball a career-high eight times twice against both Chattanooga (Oct. 28) and at Furman (Nov. 12), recording a career-best 42 rushing yards ... Caught one pass out of the backfield at Furman (Nov. 12) for 24 yards ... Scored two rushing touchdowns against SEC-foe, South Carolina (Nov. 19) ... Added five kick returns for 98 yards with a pair of punt returns ... Finished with 282 all-purpose yards on the year ... Was named to the Southern Conference All-Freshman team as a return specialist ... Made the transition to wide receiver during spring practice, but did not see action in the annual Spring Game.

Prior to Western Carolina: Rushed for 2,431 yards as a senior on just 237 carries, averaging an astounding 10.3 yards per carry in helping lead Dudley HS to a 13-2 record and berth in the 4-A west regional final ... Scored 27 rushing touchdowns ... Made 40 receptions for 771 yards and seven TDs, averaging 19.3 yards per reception ... As a junior rushed for 1,051 yards and 11 touchdowns ... Listed as a three-star athlete by 247sports.com ... High school coach was Steve Davis.

Personal: Full name is Connell Jamale Young Jr. ... Is the son of Connell Sr. and Likishen Young ... Has a younger sister, Nisha.

Career Highs:
Rushes: 19, VMI (9/22/18)
Rushing Yards: 105, at Gardner-Webb (Sept. 14)
Rushing Touchdowns: 2, at South Carolina (11/19/17)
Receptions: 6, twice (MR: at Mercer, 10/20/18)
Receiving Yards: 102, at Mercer (10/20/18)
Receiving Touchdowns: 1, six times (MR: at Mercer (10/20/18)