Utah football: Move to cornerback energizes former WR Kenric Young

The sideline practice official sprinting down the field was getting an earful.

“Come on, ref!” screamed Kenric Young.

“No way, ref!” Young went on.

When the official tossed a flag for a defensive pass interference call, Young kept going. The 6-foot-1 senior from Gainesville, Fla., picked up the flag and held it in his right hand as he sought more of an explanation on the call. Young did this all with a half-smile, caught between jokingly letting the ref have it and trying to keep a straight face.

After that, Young found someone else to chatter at. His entire former position group. No longer is Young, a recruited wide receiver with exceptional speed, in the red offense practice jerseys. No, No. 24 is in black these days, jabbing at the wideouts when a ball is batted down at the line of scrimmage or broken up in the defensive backfield.

The Utah coaching staff, as defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley noted, took a flier on Young to see if the former two-way high school star could pick up the ins-and-outs and knock off the rust of the old techniques.

“Kind of a one-day, let’s-see-how-he-does into, now he’s ours,” Scalley said. “We’re excited to have him.”

Young first was approached by Utah wide receivers coach Guy Holliday, who asked the senior if he’d ever consider moving over. The Utes have an established track record of converting players from the opposite side of the ball late in their careers and, at times, helping them reach the NFL.

That was something Holliday pitched to Young — a thought that already had crept into his mind. Utah has seen the transition by the likes of Brian Allen (drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers) as recently as last year carry on a tradition started in 2008 when Sean Smith, a one-time receiver, was a second-round draft choice the following year by the Miami Dolphins.

“I was all for it,” Young said. “Coach Whitt [Kyle Whittingham] told me, he was like, ‘We think you can help right away,’ so first thing I said was I’m going to help the team and go from there.”

Young, a former track and field star in high school in Florida, came to Utah as a speedster, viewed long-term as a receiver who could sprint by defenders. But Young didn’t see a lot of time in his first three seasons at Utah. He had nine catches for 21 yards in 21 games played.

It took Young about a day, he said, to become reacquainted with the cornerback position.

“Coach Whitt said, “We’re never looking back. We’re going to stay at it,’” Young explained.

No one was more elated than Sharrieff Shah. Utah’s defensive backs coach said he used to tell former defensive coordinator — now BYU coach — Kalani Sitake that he wanted to steal Young and make him a full-time cornerback going back to Young’s freshman year in 2014.

“He had elite speed,” Shah said.

“I don’t have a lot of people sitting around in the film room running 4.4 40s,” he added. “And you find a way to get those kind of guys on the field.”

According to his online bio, Young’s 4.42-second 40-yard dash makes him the third-fastest player on this year’s team. Shah said Young’s speed and quickness will ease the transition a bit, but that only will get him so far. Asked what he’ll need to accomplish to see time at the new spot this season, Shah said bluntly, “A lot. It’s not going to be easy.”

“Right now, his technique is extremely raw,” Shah said. “He makes up on a lot of plays because he’s so fast, quick and intelligent. He can put himself in a good position, but his technique is still sorely lacking.”

Young’s jawing continued in Saturday’s practice. He danced after the defense made a stop. He wagged his finger. He lowered his pads and took down a receiver, popped up and motioned excitingly to the defense on the sideline. After one last stop, Young ran over to a couple receivers and bantered some more.

“But it’s all love,” he said.