Ryan Young (born June 28, 1976) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

offensive tackle in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

for the New York Jets, Houston Texans and

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

. He played college football at

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public insti ...

Early years

Young (nicknamed Big Marker), graduated from

Parkway Central High School Parkway Central High School is a public high school in Chesterfield, Missouri that is part of the Parkway School District. History Five elementary school districts merged to form the Parkway Consolidated School District. The name for the distr ...

in Chesterfield, Missouri, in 1994. He played as a two-way tackle, receiving All-state and All-conference (twice) honors. He was a teammate of future

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the maj ...

player Isaac Byrd. He practiced

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and participated in the school's

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...

. He accepted a football scholarship from

, where he was named the starter at

left tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, ...

as a sophomore. He received All-Big 12 honors as a senior. He played in the

Cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor p ...

, Fiesta and

Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San An ...

Bowls.

Professional career

New York Jets

Young was selected by the New York Jets in the seventh round (223rd overall) of the

1999 NFL Draft The 1999 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17–18, 1999, at the Theater a ...

. He started the last seven games at

right tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, ...

as a rookie, after Jason Fabini was lost for the season. The next two years he was the regular starter at

and helped to block for

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. The ...

Curtis Martin Curtis James Martin Jr. (born May 1, 1973) is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He spent his first three seasons with the New England Patri ...

Houston Texans

Young was selected by the Houston Texans second overall in the

2002 NFL Expansion Draft The 2002 National Football League expansion draft is the most recent National Football League (NFL) draft in which a new expansion team, named the Houston Texans, selected its first players. On October 6, 1999, in Atlanta, NFL owners had unanimo ...

. After playing in 48 straight games in his career, he suffered a torn muscle in his groin during training camp, missing most of the preseason and the first five games of the season. He also was limited in December with a knee injury. He appeared in nine games (eight starts) at

. At the end of the year, he was declared a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

and did not accept the Texans contract offer.

Dallas Cowboys

On March 5,

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

, he was signed as a

by the

, reuniting him with his former Jets head coach

Bill Parcells Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells (born August 22, 1941) is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons. He rose to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants from 1983 ...

. He began the season as the

starter, but suffered a right knee injury that although the Cowboys tried to manage, after starting six of the first seven games, he would only appear in four additional games (two starts). On March 2,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, he was waived because of his chronic knee condition.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Ryan 1976 births Living people Players of American football from St. Louis American football offensive tackles Kansas State Wildcats football players New York Jets players Houston Texans players Dallas Cowboys players Parkway Central High School alumni