MORGANTOWN — Sitting on the sidelines was not something Scottie Young was used to, but that’s where he spent almost the entirety of the 2020 season at WVU.
Young transferred to the Mountaineers from Arizona, where he appeared in 32 games and started 29 of them from 2017-19. He was one of the most-prolific tacklers on the team during that span, but wanted a change of scenery for his final stop, ending up in Morgantown.
NCAA rules prevented Young from playing most of the year, but with a redshirt season to spare, he sat back, “chilled,” and learned from a distance, thinking he would replace Sean Mahone or Alonzo Addae, both seniors, in 2021.
“I went about it the right way,” Young said Monday. “I went through the developmental program with some of the young guys under coach Mike Joseph. I needed that to grow mentally and physically. I’m in the best shape I’ve been in ever. I’m stronger, faster, I feel healthier. I’m eating better.”
But because of COVID-19, Young’s vision became less and less clear after certain rule changes. The NCAA eventually granted players an extra year of eligibility, and both Mahone and Addae decided to return for another season.
However, in the Liberty Bowl win against Army, Tykee Smith was not available at Spear safety, so Young stepped up and filled the hole there after he was finally granted clearance from the NCAA between the end of the regular season and the bowl.
Three months later, it appeared Addae, Mahone and Smith were set to be the trio in the secondary at safety, with Young being the odd man out, but Smith’s departure to Georgia opened a spot at Spear.
Young was likely one of the few excited to see Smith, coming off an All-American season, leave the program.
Now, he is playing one of the most-versatile spots on the Mountaineers’ defense.
“The toughest part is knowing where you fit in on the field,” he said. “Sometimes you have to be a cover guy, sometimes you have to be in the box. Having so many different roles in our defense … sometimes you’re a corner, sometimes you’re a safety, sometimes you’re a linebacker.”
As the newcomer last year, even as an experienced veteran from a different program, Young wanted to fit in but couldn’t prove it on the field. It’s a different story headed into this season.
“I think he found his voice, and he really found kind of a group,” head coach Neal Brown said. “It’s hard. He transferred here right as camp was starting. He knew he had to sit out, so he wasn’t traveling, he wasn’t necessarily in the mix as far as playing, so that gave him a group and something to belong to that really helped him, I think, mentally and physically.”
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