Mt. Lebanon’s Young a Maverick on the football field
Connor Young of Mt. Lebanon has watched the Top Gun movies multiple times.
“I love them,” he said.
Young sees Tom Cruise’s character in himself. He admits to being a Maverick, too.
“A little bit,” he said. “Somebody could say, and it’s not cliche, but I’m dangerous.”
Especially on the football field, Young is perilous. The 6-3, 260-pound defensive tackle pulverizes opponents at an alarming rate.
Two years ago as a sophomore, he transitioned from fullback to lineman with quality starts during Lebo’s march to the WPIAL and PIAA championships. Last year, he gained All-Conference honors by racking up 31 tackles, a sack and 4 TFL.
“I’ve always loved contact sports,” said Young, who has also wrestled and played lacrosse. “I fell in love with football and the physicality of the game. Being able to hit someone every single play, well, that’s something else.”
Young is eager to start his senior season for the Blue Devils, who finished 5-6 overall last year. He expects to captain them back into the winners circle. He also hopes to avenge last year’s loses to North Allegheny and Central Catholic
“Winning the state championship was an amazing experience,” said Young.
He started both state playoff games against Erie McDowell and State College, played the entire WPIAL final and had quality reps in the PIAA championship game.
“Nothing could beat it. Just being able to win every game was a feeling that nobody can take away from me,” Young said.
“It would be nice to duplicate that this year. The ultimate goal is to be WPIAL champions. I’d love to get big wins over NA and Central because they are very good programs. It would be amazing to beat them both again.”
Young sees his role simply.
“Get lots of sacks and try to disturb plays in the backfield,” he said.
Young added, “Encourage my teammates, particularly when they make big plays, and get them up to speed. We are a relatively young team,” he noted. “So, bringing up the younger kids is most important. We have to practice every single day like it’s a game.”
Mike Collodi has only known Young for a limited time because he was hired in late February to replace Bob Palko. However, the new coach has been impressed with Young’s attitude and approach.
“Connor’s a big kid with a great motor for a defensive linemen. He never takes plays off and he has tremendous leadership skills, both vocal and in showing by doing,” Collodi said. “His work ethic is second to none and he’s extremely intelligent. That’s a great combination. His non-stop tenacity and his athletic ability stood out to me as I am sure it did for the college recruiters.”
Some 22 universities have pursued Young. Schools such as Army, Air Force, Holy Cross, Penn, Dartmouth, Columbia and Brown embraced his 4.4 GPA and membership in the National Honor Society but the United State Naval Academy won the battle for his athletic acumen.
Young committed to play football for the Midshipmen for a number of reasons. His cousin, Neil Smith, a Central Catholic graduate, swam at the Naval Academy before becoming a pilot. Former state champion teammates such as Alex Tecza and Eli Heidenreich currently play football for Navy. Plus, Young will be able to study cyber and computer science while training to fly fighter jets.
“Navy felt like the right choice,” he said. “Annapolis is amazing and the Naval Academy has one of the best academic institutions in the country going along with some of the best football.”
While he will play on both sides of the line at Lebo, Young will be a defensive tackle at Navy. During his Plebe year, he plans to dress, make the travel squad and contribute “big things” on special teams.
“Any way I can get on the field, I’ll do. The ultimate goals are to be a starter and to beat both Army and Air Force every year. That would be huge. Amazing,” Young added.
Young expects an adjustment period. He said that the high school game is slow enough in his mind that he is able to concentrate.
“Once you get to college, it’s a whole other world. Everything is so fast-paced,” he said. “I’ll have to find a way to keep that intensity.”
Collodi doesn’t expect Young to miss a beat either at the Naval Academy or on the field this fall for the Blue Devils.
“Connor is an extraordinary student-athlete so I expect him to do well,” he said. “He’s the whole package and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that he is a fine young man.
Collodi anticipates more than just another All-Conference season from Young.
“We look for him absolutely to be a dominant force across the state of Pennsylvania,” he said. “Connor has a unique style because of his intellect, strength, knowledge and leverage. That separates him from most. He’s such a force.”
Meet Connor Young Age: 17 Birthday: Jan. 3 Parents: Zach and Raynee Siblings: Zach, 22 and Liam, 19 Sports: Football, lacrosse Clubs: National Honor Society, Emmaus Activities: Special Olympics. Cleans the Pittsburgh Korean War Memorial. GPA: 4.4 College choice: Naval Academy. Major: Cyber or computer science. Food: Steak and eggs. Color: Blue. “It’s very versatile. It goes well with lot of other colors.” Restaurant: Primanti Brothers Book: Of Mice and Men Movie: The Shawshank Redemption Favorite athlete: Michael Jordan Dream Destination: Italy. “Because of the history and different types of food.” Person you would like to have dinner with: The President of the United States. “That would be cool.” What question would you ask him:. What is it like having all the power over our country? Sports life lesson: Always put effort into everything you do no matter what. If you start to hold back on yourself, that transitions to other places in your life. You will start to cheat and put yourself in a hole. People might be surprised to know this about you: I belonged to the fishing club at school and I like to fish with my friends.
Age: 17
Birthday: Jan. 3
Parents: Zach and Raynee
Siblings: Zach, 22 and Liam, 19
Sports: Football, lacrosse
Clubs: National Honor Society, Emmaus
Activities: Special Olympics. Cleans the Pittsburgh Korean War Memorial.
GPA: 4.4
College choice: Naval Academy.
Major: Cyber or computer science.
Food: Steak and eggs.
Color: Blue. “It’s very versatile. It goes well with lot of other colors.”
Restaurant: Primanti Brothers
Book: Of Mice and Men
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Favorite athlete: Michael Jordan
Dream Destination: Italy. “Because of the history and different types of food.”
Person you would like to have dinner with: The President of the United States. “That would be cool.”
What question would you ask him:. What is it like having all the power over our country?
Sports life lesson: Always put effort into everything you do no matter what. If you start to hold back on yourself, that transitions to other places in your life. You will start to cheat and put yourself in a hole.
People might be surprised to know this about you: I belonged to the fishing club at school and I like to fish with my friends.
Connor Young has had many influential forces in his life.
His father, Zach, played hockey in Springfield, Ill. His mother, Raynee, was a cheerleader at Mt. Lebanon. His two older brothers, Zach and Liam, proved role models, particularly academically going on to attend the University of Pittsburgh and Ohio State, respectively.
Additionally, Young played for Bob Palko, who accumulated 249 victories, nine WPIAL titles and two PIAA crowns in his scholastic coaching career.
Now, Young has transitioned to Mike Collodi, who was hired to replace Palko in late February. Young said the adjustment has gone smoothly.
“It’s been easy because Coach Collodi and Palko have similar minds sets although some of the technical things and how practice is run is different. They both are about getting the little things right and perfecting them; being physical every play and out-toughing our opponents.
“That will take us far,” Young predicted.