A couple days after Bryce Young went no. 1 overall in the NFL Draft to the Charlotte Panthers, Notre Dame picks up Bryce Young the defensive lineman out of Charlotte Christian School. His school is home to such athletic legends as Matthias Farley and Steph Curry, with Notre Dame hoping 2024 receiver Micah Gilbert commits to the Irish from the same school this Tuesday, May 2nd.

Young is the son of former Notre Dame All-American, Super Bowl Champion, and Pro Football Hall of Famer Bryant Young who was a devastating defensive tackle during his career.

Recruiting Service Rankings

247Sports Composite — 4 star (.9005), #332 overall, #35 DL, #10 in NC

On3 Consensus — 4 star (89.86 rating), #315 overall, #21 Edge, #10 in NC

The 247 Composite and On3 Consensus both combine 247, On3, Rivals, and ESPN rankings.

247Sports — 3 star (88 rating), NR overall, #40 DL, #13 in NC

On3 — 4 star (91 rating), #236 overall, #22 Edge, #8 NC

Rivals — 4 star (5.8 rating), NR overall, #25 OLB, #8 NC

ESPN — Not Yet Rated

Irish Sports Daily — 4 star (92 rating)

Is he a linebacker, weak-side defensive end, or strong-side defensive end? We’ll discuss more below!

Cohort

Young came to Notre Dame last summer to camp and came away with a scholarship offer. Since the start of 2023 he’s begun garnering a lot more interest and carries offers from USC, Michigan, Penn State, Tennessee, Duke, Iowa, Miami, Georgia Tech, Stanford, Maryland, California, Virginia, and a handful of other smaller schools.

Highlights

This is one big athlete. Young is listed anywhere between 6’5″ and 6’6″ and in most recent photographs he looks every bit that tall. The header photo in this article was from last summer after Young worked out on campus and he is towering over the 6’1″ Marcus Freeman. As an edge rusher, he is a handful for high school opponents. He is so fast and physical for his size that any longer developing pass plays with him coming way off the edge are asking for trouble.

I don’t think Young’s burst is elite but it is still very impressive given his length. This comes as no surprise with his bloodlines but Young is also a very smart football player with a good nose for the ball. His tackles against the run are just as impressive as his pass rushing skills. Overall, his athleticism is just really dazzling and he seems a lot further ahead developmentally (he didn’t grow up playing football) than I would have imagined.

Impact

Charlotte Christian quite often plays Bryce way outside the tackles in a pass rushing role, which is fine. I’d like to see him play more inside at the high school level to keep testing his physicality because that is the next step when he makes it Notre Dame.

Is he a Vyper at Notre Dame?

Bryce’s dad played at Notre Dame around 6’3″ and 290 pounds. With his frame, I have a hard time seeing Young even showing up to South Bend in January (I’m assuming he’ll be an early enrollee because who isn’t these days?) under 260 pounds. To me, I would project him to the strong-side. Young’s frame reminds me of a taller Aiden Gobaira from the 2022 class and he’s already playing on the strong-side at 241 pounds. I think Young will be a much bigger version of that but with the potential to wreak havoc as a pass-rusher, as well.

Welcome to the Irish family, Bryce!