Recordpub.com - Young rising up draft boards

By David Carducci

Record-Courier staff writer

Some National Football League scouts and draft gurus didn"t do their homework on Usama Young.

Despite an impressive career at Kent State as a four-year starter at cornerback, Young was not on the national radar as the buildup to the draft first began back in late February.

Young did not receive an invitation to the NFL combine in Indianapolis, and he was not mentioned in the draft preview magazines of Street & Smith, the Sporting News, Athlon or Lindy"s when they hit the newsstands. Only Pro Football Weekly recognized Young as a worthy prospect, ranking him 18th among the cornerbacks likely to be selected this weekend.

Now all of the so-called experts are scrambling to find out what all the hubbub is surrounding one of the fastest rising prospects of this weekend"s NFL Draft

The buildup started in early March when Young wowed scouts with a 43-inch vertical jump, a 10-11 broad jump and sub 4.40 times in the 40-yard dash. His vertical and broad jumps were better than any player in his position group at the combine.

Since then, 10 teams have worked out Young privately and another five teams have invited him to visit their headquarters. Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith and New England Patriots defensive coordinator and former KSU head coach Dean Pees have traveled to Kent personally get a firsthand look at the Flashes defensive back.

Young is now being touted as a likely first-day selection, possibly going as early as Saturday"s second round. One scouting service lists the KSU star as the first player likely to be drafted from the group of college seniors not invited to the combine.

The dream Young has cherished since his childhood growing up in suburban Washington D.C. is about to come true.

"That was why I played," said Young. "When you are in the back yard with all of your friends, you emulate your favorite athletes. You are doing the Deion (Sanders) high step running into the end zone. You try to juke people out like Barry Sanders. When you get a chance to play at the same level as them, you look forward to it.

"This may not be everybody"s dream growing up, but it"s a lot of people. When I was coming up, playing in the NFL was always a dream. Slowly but surely, it turned into a goal. I"m just trying to reach that goal. I never gave up on it."

Instead of being disappointed by not being invited to the combine, Young decided to treat the snub as motivation.

"At first I was disappointed, but I couldn"t stay disappointed," said Young. "That wouldn"t help me at all. I said, "All right, I have to get over this and let it fuel my workouts." Now every time I work out, I feel like I have to work out to try to get to those players" level."

Adding that extra bit of motivation to Young"s already fierce work ethic has helped his stock skyrocket in the last month and a half.

"Usama is a guy who has made himself into a player," said KSU head coach Doug Martin. "He had a lot of talent when he first came to Kent, but talent isn"t worth anything if you are not going to work hard to develop it. He is so dedicated on and off the field and in the weight room. ... He deserves the chance he is getting. He is a special player."

How dedicated is Young to molding himself into a better player?

Instead of watching the draft on ESPN and wondering and worrying about his future, Young will be at Kent State"s field house on Saturday, lifting weights and preparing for his first mini camp with whatever team calls out his name.

According to Young, all of the individual workouts and the travel to visit the headquarters of different NFL teams has made it difficult to maintain his own workout schedule.

"I haven"t been able to do five days a week, so I had to turn Saturday and Sunday into a workout day," said Young. "Whatever team I get selected to, I don"t want to go there out of shape. That would be the worst thing I can do."

BROWNS, RAMS, SAINTS TO VISIT KSU -- Young will be put through the paces for the Cleveland Browns, St. Louis Rams and New Orleans Saints today at Kent State"s field house in one final workout before this weekend"s draft.

Fellow Kent State NFL prospect Danny Muir, who has bulked up to 310 pounds to fit the profile of a pro defensive tackle, is also getting a last-minute looks from scouts. The Detroit Lions have called to find out more about the Flashes star defensive lineman, whose stock has also been on the rise in recent weeks. Muir has visited the Green Bay Packers, Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens.

KIRKLAND HAS NFL POTENTIAL -- KSU safety Andre Kirkland should also find himself in an NFL rookie camp sometime next week. Kirkland, who is a childhood friend and high school teammate of Young"s, has worked out for 10 pro teams and could be drafted on Sunday"s second day. If he is not, he is likely to find a contract as a rookie free agent.

"We were just talking about it yesterday," said Young. "Man, what if we end up on the same team? That would just cap it off. From playing boys-and-girls club football, to playing high school, to college, then to the pro level and play alongside each other, that would be a great conclusion to the story."

KSU VS. AKRON AT CANAL PARK -- Don"t forget, the baseball teams from Kent State and the University of Akron will take their rivalry to Akron"s Canal Park tonight for a 6 p.m. game.

All proceeds from the meeting, tagged as the inaugural "Diamond Classic for Kids," will benefit the Akron Children"s Hospital. Cost is $10 for adults and $5 for youth-student tickets.

Former KSU quarterback Joshua Cribbs and former Akron quarterback Charlie Frye, who are now teammates with the Cleveland Browns, will throw the ceremonial first pitches.