Young started his college career at Texas where he was named the Southwest Conferences outstanding freshman lineman,[1] but in 1961 he transferred to Howard Payne University to be closer to home.
[3] It soon spread to having other Cardinal offensive linemen work on their physique with modern weightlifting/powerlifting that eventually became a league obsession.
That season, the offensive line quintet of tackles Roger Finnie & Dan Dierdorf, center Tom Banks, and guards in Conrad Dobler and Young allowed just eight sacks in the entire fourteen-game season (the next time the Cardinals had three games with no sacks taken would not come until 2024).
[5][6] In 1986, he was inducted into the Howard Payne University Sports Hall of Fame for his playing career in football along with track and field.
[8] Young competed in the inaugural World's Strongest Man contest in 1977, finishing second to weightlifter Bruce Wilhelm.