“I guess the best way to put it is that there’s an old saying about the rose that grew from concrete.”
That’s actually the title of a poem by the late Tupac Shakur and its theme of resilience is the story of Young, who found a way to break through the concrete in his life to become a two-sport star at Dunbar and then, last Saturday at Ford Field in Detroit, show some real bloom in his debut as a Central State Marauder.
Although CSU lost to Kentucky State 34-24 in their Detroit Football Classic season opener, the Marauders did show real promise running the football.
Behind the solid play of the offensive line, junior running back Jaden Bossie ran for 100 yards and a 63-yard touchdown while Young, a 176-pound sophomore, rushed for 110 yards on just nine carries and had a 73-yard TD run, as well as a pair of two-point conversions.
But like Lacking said, such rosy performance for Young is rooted in concrete. There was enough of it that a lesser man would have seen his promise permanently paved over.
“A lot of the time, life was pretty hard, and I just raised myself,” Young said quietly Wednesday evening after the Marauders had finished practice in preparation for Saturday evening’s game at Tuskegee.
Pressed about his upbringing, Young also was deliberate with his words:
“My dad wasn’t around for real. I didn’t really know him much. I don’t know where he is now.
“And my mom, she was there for me a minute. But there were a lot of personal problems in my family and the male figures in my (home) life came in and then left.
“I lived all over town. For a while I lived with my grandma and my auntie was there for me, but for a lot of it, I came up on my own.
“My real support came from Dunbar and at my middle school. The people there really looked out for me.”
He mentioned several coaches, especially Lacking, who was also his English teacher in ninth grade.
And he made special note of Catrina Bailey. She’s the Dunbar High principal.
He called her “My Auntie.”
“I’m his adopted aunt,” Bailey said with a laugh when she heard his reference. She taught him in the fourth grade and over the years has watched him grow up and turn some of toughest times into great moments of success.
“He’s shown a lot of grit and perseverance,” she said. “And once he found a path he wanted to follow – once he got on the football field or the track – it was over.
“He was determined to make his mark.”
‘My last option’
Young became a two-way standout on the football field at Dunbar. A celebrated running back, he also played linebacker and defensive end, led the team in tackles as a senior and won All-Ohio honors at linebacker.
In track, he won four state hurdles titles.
In the outdoor season, he won the 110 hurdles crown as both a junior and a senior. He also won a pair of indoor 60-meters hurdling crowns.
When Young graduated in 2024, Central State track coach Elliott Lightfoot was interested in him, but he chose to play football last season at the University of Findlay, which, like CSU, is an NCAA Division II school.
He ended up playing in just one game – a mid-September matchup with Lake Erie – and finished with four rushes for no yards.
“Unfortunately, I had a couple of mishaps,” he said. “I had some fumble problems and that messed with my playing time. I think they didn’t really trust me after that.
“I still love Findlay though. They are my second family, but not playing hurt my heart.”
He said he stayed with the Oilers program through spring football this year because “I wanted to stick it out. I wanted to show I could play.”
He said he was buoyed by the folks who believed in him back in Dayton.
“He had a good support system back here that made sure he stayed in school,” Bailey said.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Finally, he decided it would be in his best interests to enter the transfer portal. Although he had Division I dreams, he said “None of that worked out.
“Central State was my last option.”
‘A real hunger’
Once again it was Lightfoot who sought him for the Marauders’ track team.
The new football coaches who took over the program didn’t really draw a bead on him until he showed up at an open tryout camp on campus in June.
“It was really a camp for 2026 high school kids,” running backs coach James Lee said. “Usually if you tell guys already in college to try out, they don’t want that.
“But he wanted it that bad. There must have been about 150 kids there and he stood out. When I was at Ohio Dominican, we had looked at him, but now we really noticed him.
“He really showed a passion, a fire. You could tell he’s on a mission.
“He just runs angry.”
When he heard Lee’s words, Lacking agreed:
“That’s the perfect description. His background, his situation, created that drive he has both in the classroom and on the football field. There’s just a real hunger.”
Although it’s early in the season – and CSU has 55 new players from the high school and transfer portal ranks – CSU head coach Tony Carter has taken special notice of Young as well:
“He’s a man of few words. He’s quiet and lets his actions speak for him. I like his demeanor and the way he carries himself.”
Although he averaged 12.2 yards per carry Saturday and had the game’s longest run – his 73-yard jaunt in the second quarter put CSU up at the half – Young shifted our post-practice conversation to the play of his offensive line and to Bosse, who he had set the tone with his own long TD scamper on the possession before he broke his big run.
As for his own performance, he did admit: “It really felt beautiful. The last time I felt like that was winning one of my state titles in track.”
No one was happier for him than Bailey:
“To see him out there having his moment and then shining like he did, I’m just extremely proud. And I think he’s set up now with a team and coaches who will develop him even more. I just can’t wait to see what happens next.”
Lacking feels the same:
“Hopefully this is just the tip of the iceberg, and all his dreams come to fruition. He certainly deserves it. He’s done something pretty special.”
He’s turned concrete into a rose.
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