Frederick Kimball Young (born November 14, 1961) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for seven seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

and the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. He was selected to four Pro Bowls - two on the

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

and two as linebacker. He was renowned as a heavy hitter and was featured in the NFL film 'The NFL Crunch Course.'

College career

Young is a graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas, Texas, the first high school to produce two

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

winners. Young was a 2-year letterman in basketball and football. He received a full athletic scholarship to

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...

(NMSU), was a part of the first-team all-

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

from 1981 to 1983, the AP honorable mention all-American team in 1983, and the 1983

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

honorable mention all-American team. He was voted to NMSU Hall of Fame and Aggie Legend, and he was drafted in the third round of 1984

NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

, the 76th overall pick.

Professional career

Young's jersey number for the Seahawks was 50. He is perhaps most famous for being the Seattle Seahawks special teams player of the year for 1984–85, and a stalwart in the middle of the Seahawks defense from 1985 to 1987. In May 1988, after four consecutive Pro Bowls and two All-Pro selections (for special teams and strong inside linebacker), he was traded to Indianapolis for the Colts' 1st round draft picks in 1989 and 1990. He retired after three years in Indianapolis due to injuries.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Fredd 1961 births Living people Players of American football from Dallas American football linebackers Seattle Seahawks players Indianapolis Colts players American Conference Pro Bowl players New Mexico State Aggies football players