'6 Pack of Bear': Taylor Young silenced critics, became a leader

There was a time when Taylor Young, late in his college football recruiting process, was without a Power Five offer. He was a 5-foot-9, 205-pound linebacker and someone who many thought was too little to play the position at the college level.

Two days before national signing day in 2013, Young only had offers from Colorado State, Rice and Louisiana-Monroe. The DeSoto High School prospect picked up his only Power Five offer -- from Baylor -- on Feb. 4, 2013. He committed to the program the same day and signed with the Bears two days later.

More than four years later, Young enters the upcoming season as a fifth-year senior who has accounted for 265 tackles and has earned all-Big 12 honors throughout his successful college career at linebacker. As Baylor's starting weak-side linebacker, Young is a leader on a defensive unit looking to make some noise in the Big 12 under new head coach Matt Rhule.

Young spoke with SicEm365 about being overlooked in high school, the expectations of Baylor football this season and playing under Rhule.

I REMEMBER YOU IN HIGH SCHOOL WHEN EVERYONE SAID YOU WERE TOO SMALL OR NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO PLAY COLLEGE BALL. DO YOU STILL THINK ABOUT THOSE DAYS?
"Every day. I mean, you have to. Humble beginnings, right? That's really how I do things. I'm never satisfied with what I have accomplished. I feel as though every day, you have to think about where you've come from.

"To be honest, I'm not there yet. I don't think I'm even halfway there yet. I just need to keep pushing, keep going and take advantage of this opportunity every day."

YOU'VE AVERAGED NEARLY 90 TACKLES A SEASON. WHAT ARE SOME PERSONAL GOALS FOR YOU AS YOU START YOUR SENIOR YEAR?
"I need to be the best. It's not like I want to be the best; I need to be the best. Just to be OK with myself, I need to be the best for me and my teammates, so our team can be great. There are guys like K.J. [Smith] and other seniors who need to be great, so we can all have a great season. I'm putting a lot of pressure on us seniors, just so we can become the best we can. Hopefully, the rest of our team will follow suit."

AS A DEFENSIVE LEADER, WHAT ARE SOME THINGS YOU'VE SAID TO YOUR TEAMMATES AS YOU PREPARE FOR THE FIRST GAME?
"Take advantage of every day. Every day counts. Compete with everything you do; it doesn't matter what you're doing. People wish for this, and it can easily be taken away from you. I let them know as a leader to talk to me and let me know what I'm doing so I can stay consistent, too."

THE WORLD WAS INTRODUCED TO COACH RHULE AT BIG 12 MEDIA DAYS. YOU GUYS HAVE KNOWN HIS CHARACTER FOR MONTHS NOW. WHAT IS IT ABOUT HIM THAT EVERYBODY LIKES?
"He's down to earth. Sometimes, you see a head coach who doesn't do certain little things. Coach Rhule is going to be with you sitting down, trying to have lunch with you, just trying to see what's up. That's a great thing. He isn't always talking about football. He's asking how things are going, and he really wants to know. I take that personally. He's at the SLC with us playing basketball. He's playing ping pong with us. We've really gotten to know him and build our relationship."

IT WASN'T LONG AGO WHEN YOU WERE A BAYLOR RECRUIT. HOW WOULD YOU SELL THE PROGRAM TO HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES?
"These guys talk about how they want to play in the NFL. The coaches here come from the NFL. They'll tell you the steps to get there. If you want to play at the next level, they'll give you the opportunity to do that.

"Honestly, Baylor is a great school. It doesn't matter if you're a Christian or not; they want good people. If I'm one of them, I'd just take the opportunity to look at the school and see what they're doing with it."

IN HIGH SCHOOL, YOU WERE 5-9 AND ABOUT 200, 210 POUNDS. YOU HAD YOUR CRITICS WHO SAID YOU COULDN'T PLAY POWER FIVE FOOTBALL. HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO THOSE CRITICS NOW?
"Check the film. It's there. I'm not trying to be cocky, but I'm confident in what I can do and what I've done. I'm learning more and doing more things. Just check the film. Hopefully, things will continue to fall in place for me."