VIDEO – Imagine how daunting it must be for a rookie in the NFL. Never mind your skill players—quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers—all of whom need to learn complex, new playbooks. Then there’s the drastic jump in the speed of the game going from NCAA to the pros, which is practically a thing of legend. Now imagine the veteran entrenched ahead of you is none other than the skyrocketing scoring machine, Calvin Johnson. Welcome to Titus Young’s world.
Don’t be too quick to discount him, though. The first-year out of Boise State came to the Detroit Lions, who drafted him in the second round with the 44th overall pick, bearing nothing but promise. He left the Broncos, a dominant force in the Mountain West Conference, with a few fresh school records under his arm—not least of which, the school’s all-time single season receiving yards record (1,215) and the record for all-time leading receiver at the school with a college career total of 3,063, bolstered by back-to-back thousand-yard seasons in 2009 and 2010.
And as a 5’11” 170-pound speedster who’s been likened, albeit as a “poor man’s version,” to Philadelphia Eagles’ star receiver DeSean Jackson, he brings a dimension to the Lions’ potent passing game all his own.
“I’ve never been another man’s anything,” Young said on a post-draft conference call earlier in the year. “I know people will compare me to other people but God made me to be me. He made me to be Titus Demetrius Young. My initials are T.D. Young. Touchdown Young.”
The TDs haven’t materialized yet, but they may not be far off. He’s presently third on the depth chart, well behind the indomitable “Megatron,” who’s leading amongst wide receivers in touchdowns on the year with a staggering two per week pace, but quickly gaining on 9-year veteran Nate Burleson, who’s gotten off to a decidedly underwhelming start to the year. The rookie, who didn’t record a catch in the first game of the season, is presently tied with Burleson at 181 yards, though it’s actually taken the starter four more receptions than Young’s 12 to get there.
Far be it from us to crunch stats, but this one certainly seems to hint that the Jackson comparison might not be unfounded. Because Young still possesses that same speed that made him a deep threat in college, like when he broke off a 64-yard catch in Boise’s bowl game in 2010.
Young recalls, “I remember Shawn Jefferson, the first day of practice at the Senior Bowl, he told me ‘Hey, you’re dropping the ball because you’re not getting your hands around quicker. In the NFL, the ball’s going to come quicker.’ I listened.”
Which is just one more thing in Young’s favor—an eagerness to learn and improve his game, and a solid work ethic, all fueled by a desire to be the best. Add to all that talent and physical ability such a mature disposition, and you have the potential for a very promising receiver lining up opposite Johnson and catching passes from Matthew Stafford in one of the most dynamic offenses in the NFL today.
