Cal Football 2019 Signee Profile and Scouting: OLB Curley Young Jr.

Profile

Curley Young Jr. is a 6’1”, 210 pound linebacker from Hendrickson High School in Pflugerville, Texas. He is rated as a consensus 3-star recruit.

First and foremost, Young definitely has an A-grade name. Other than that, he received 16 total offers including schools like Arizona, Colorado State, and SMU. Cal offered him in June of 2018, and he committed one month later before signing on Early Signing Day.

He doesn’t have any stats from MaxPreps, but he has plenty of combine stats for us to work with. He recorded an official 4.80 40 time, a 4.22 20-yard shuttle, and a 33.9” vertical leap back in April of 2018. Those numbers (especially the shuttle time) are pretty solid for an incoming recruit. They don’t blow you away, but we definitely have an athletic player here on our hands. The only thing to keep in mind is that he is pretty light for his position so he could slow down a bit if Cal wants him to put on more weight.

The interesting thing is that we have additional self-reported numbers from Young on his Hudl page. Since they are self reported, we can’t be sure of their accuracy, but it is still worth taking a look at. On his Hudl, he is listed as having a 4.6 40 time, a 4.1 20-yard shuttle, and a 38” vertical. Those are obviously some pretty big improvements and would move him from good athleticism to elite athleticism if they are true. We can’t know for sure for now, but it is still interesting to keep in mind.

Scouting Report

The first thing I noticed with Young is that he is really small. He will probably need to put on some weight at the next level if he wants to play linebacker.

Moving on from that, Young fits the typical profile of what we have come to expect from Wilcox recruits, as he plays with a very high intensity level at all times. He is relentless at getting to the quarterback or ball-carrier, and loves to deliver big hits.

Another thing to keep in mind is that I would not rule out a move to safety for Young. Wilcox has shown a willingness to move players around for their best fits, and with Young’s frame and tackling ability he could be a fit at safety if that staff wants to keep him at his current weight. Nonetheless, Young moved all around the defense in high school and certainly represents a versatile player for Wilcox and the defensive coaches.

Also, on the tape, Young looks very quick. Based off the video, I would say his self-reported combine numbers could actually be pretty accurate. Either way, he definitely looks like a very athletic player.

Overall, Young continues the trend that we have seen from Wilcox. He isn’t getting flashy recruits, but he is getting guys who can certainly contribute to his defense. Young will be especially fun for him to work with due to his versatility. Young isn’t a guy who I would expect to be a full-time starter, but I can easily imagine him being a great special teams player and very effective as a rotational player who is used in a variety of different ways on defense.