Former Tennessee DL Byron Young receives impressive NFL honor

Former Tennessee Vols edge rusher Byron Young is proving to be one of the biggest steals in the 2023 NFL Draft.  The Los Angeles Rams selected Young in the third round of the draft, but the former Vol is playing like a first round pick through the first six games of his NFL career. Young […]

Zach Ragan — Tennessee Volunteers News Writer
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Former Tennessee Vols edge rusher Byron Young is proving to be one of the biggest steals in the 2023 NFL Draft. 

The Los Angeles Rams selected Young in the third round of the draft, but the former Vol is playing like a first round pick through the first six games of his NFL career.

Young has three sacks so far this season and he leads all rookies in pressures. 

On Thursday, Young was named the Pepsi rookie of the week for his performance last weekend against the Arizona Cardinals (which included a strip sack against former Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs, who has started every game this season for Arizona). 

Young's strong performance through first third of the NFL season has made an impression on the defensive linemen that are currently playing at Tennessee. 

Vols defensive line coach Rodney Garner said during Vol Calls this week that Young's success has served as an example for several of Tennessee's current players. 

"I think that’s been an example even for the older guys, just for like, Tyler Baron, just seeing how B.Y. went about his business every day," said Garner. "He was a guy that wasn’t about the flash or anything about that. He was hungry. He was all about team. It was team-first — doing all the little things, paying attention to details. And then, obviously, all those guys saw when B.Y. came in here that he was extremely raw. And just because he just kept his head down, he took coaching, he worked his butt off. He never got into his feelings. And he got coached as hard as any of them and he just went about his business."

Young still has a lot of room to grow. He's only going to get better from here. it's still early in his career, but he has the potential to earn a reputation as one of the most feared pass rushers in the NFL if he continues his impressive play. 

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