Valparaiso
“I always told them that I didn’t care what they did, as long as they gave 100% to it,” he said. “I couldn’t be prouder to see them excelling and doing well. It’s a lot farther than I ever went.”
The football interest extends to freshman Chase Young, the youngest of the Young siblings who has been on the Vikings’ sidelines as a ball boy.
Coming from such a football-oriented family has helped the Youngs understand what is required for success, according to Valparaiso coach Bill Marshall.
“They know the expectations in regard to the amount of commitment it takes,” he said. “It starts at home, which is a huge thing
for us. We have handfuls of kids like that on the team.”
But the Vikings don’t have handfuls of kids who play in the same position group as siblings.
“They have that same push, that same mentality,” Marshall said of the Youngs. “But they’ll also banter back and forth about who’s playing better and still laugh with each other while they’re out there.”
Tyler Young is in his third season at defensive end, while Tanner Young moved to tackle after playing linebacker last season. Playing in every game this season, Tyler Young has 28 tackles, including 2.5 for loss and 2.5 sacks, and Tanner Young has 42 tackles, including 3.5 for loss and one sack.
Beyond the numbers, Tyler Young said the brothers
have cherished a season that has defied the expectations from outside their locker room.
“It’s my senior year, so it was already going to be special,” he said. “But the craziest thing about this year is the number of doubters we had coming into it and how we’ve been able to prove them wrong by putting every ounce of effort into making this the best season yet.”
Tyler and Tanner Young were in attendance when Valparaiso played for the Class 5A state title in 2019. When Tyler Young was asked what he expected from playing in the state championship game this time, he just smiled.
“It’s going to be a fun Saturday,” he said.