Mitchell Young (born July 18, 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 ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

who played one season with the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

of 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). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Northwest Mississippi Community College Northwest Mississippi Community College is a public community college in Senatobia, Mississippi. It was founded in 1928. As of 2024, Northwest's enrollment is approximately 6,800 students. There are approximately 2,000 students on the Senatobia ...

and

Arkansas State University Arkansas State University (A-State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States. It is the flagship campus of the Arkansas State University System and the second-largest university in the st ...

. He also played in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) and

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL).

Early life and college

Mitchell Young was born on July 18, 1961, in

Coldwater, Mississippi Coldwater is a town in Tate County, Mississippi, United States, and is part of the Memphis Metropolitan Area. The population was 1,677 at the 2010 census. History The town square of Coldwater is approximately two miles south of the Coldwater R ...

. He attended North Panola High School in Sardis, Mississippi. Young first played

from 1981 to 1982. He then transferred to

, where he was a two-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

for the

Arkansas State Red Wolves The Arkansas State Red Wolves are the athletic teams of Arkansas State University. They are a member of the Sun Belt Conference in all sports except women's Ten-pin bowling, bowling, a sport not sponsored by that league, competing at the National ...

from 1983 to 1984.

Professional career

Young signed with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

of the

(CFL) in 1986. He was released on June 5, 1986. On September 23, 1987, Young signed with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

during the

1987 NFL players strike The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) is the labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. and president ...

. However, he was released before appearing in any games. On October 13, 1987, Young was signed by the

during the strike. He played in one game for the Falcons before being released on October 19, 1987. He signed with the Falcons again on February 21, 1988. Young was placed on injured reserve on August 23, 1988, and missed the entire 1988 season. He was released by the Falcons on August 28, 1989. Young signed with the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded on September 19, 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup cham ...

of the CFL in 1989. He dressed in two games during the 1989 season, posting four tackles, before being released on October 29, 1989. Young played in all eight games for the Denver Dynamite of the

(AFL) in 1990, recording four solo tackles, four assisted tackles, 2.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and one pass breakup. He was an

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

/defensive lineman during his time in the AFL as the league played under

ironman rules The one-platoon system, also known as "iron man football", is a platoon system, rule-driven substitution pattern in American football whereby the same players were expected to stay on the field for the entire game, playing both offense and defense ...

. The Dynamite finished the season with a 4–4 record and lost in the first round of the playoffs to the

Dallas Texans Dallas Texans may refer to: American football *Dallas Texans (NFL), 1952 team in the National Football League *Dallas Texans (AFL), 1960–1962 team that is now the Kansas City Chiefs *Dallas Texans (arena football) The Dallas Texans were an ...

. Young was named second-team

All-Arena An All-Arena Team, an all-star team consisting of the best players of their position was selected every season in the Arena Football League (AFL). Teams * 1987 All-Arena Team, 1987 * 1988 All-Arena Team, 1988 * 1989 All-Arena Team, 1989 * 1990 Al ...

for his performance during the 1990 season. He appeared in three games for Denver in 1991, totaling two solo tackles and one fumble recovery. Young played in all ten games for the Sacramento Attack of the AFL in 1992, recording eight solo tackles, one assisted tackle, 3.5 sacks, and one pass breakup.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Mitch Living people 1961 births Players of American football from Mississippi Players of Canadian football from Mississippi American football defensive ends American football offensive linemen Canadian football defensive linemen Northwest Mississippi Rangers football players Arkansas State Red Wolves football players Atlanta Falcons players Ottawa Rough Riders players Denver Dynamite (arena football) players Sacramento Attack players People from Coldwater, Mississippi 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen Toronto Argonauts players Denver Broncos players