Notre Dame released an updated roster back in June and one of the players who caught everyone’s attention with his weight gain was Kedren Young.
Already a big back as a true freshman, Young was listed at 229 last fall. He’s now up to 240, which is 12 pounds heavier than Audric Estime was at Notre Dame. The first thought for most people might be that Young has gotten too big, but anyone who has seen him up close would know that it isn’t bad weight.
“No. It just happened,” Young said when asked if he had planned this weight gain. “I talked to my nutritionist (Alexa Appelman) and she does a good job of keeping track of our weight and stuff like that. I just gained muscle mass and it took off from there.”
More importantly, he likes how he feels on the field at this weight.
“I feel good,” declared Young. “I feel stronger, faster. I was skeptical a little, but I feel exactly the same.”
His position coach, Ja’Juan Seider has no issues with it either.
“He's a big kid who can carry it; he's lean,” Seider said. “If he's too heavy, you'll be too sluggish and you can't carry it. As long as it's not affecting his speed and quickness, which I haven't seen and I've had bigger backs at previous places. Sometimes we get caught up in the weight and how they're built.”
Seider brought up the quintessential big back at Notre Dame when talking about Young’s weight as well. The Irish had a pretty darn good back who weighed 250 pounds who ended up being a top-10 pick.
“Jerome Bettis was a big guy and nobody talked about his weight. He played for a long time and got a gold jacket,” stated Seider. “To me, it's what you're comfortable with. I don't talk about it as much, but if I feel like you're sluggish or it's holding you back and you can't finish the way that you want, then we'll talk about doing something. But he's lean right now, hell, what is he going to lose? You look at his build, his shoulders are wider than mine and I have wide shoulders."
Seider also said he’s been communicating to Young that, despite all of the other talent in front of him on the depth chart, “his time is now” and he’ll have a role on this team sooner rather than later. That’s what Young has been focusing on during camp.
“Oh yeah. That’s what fall camp is for, finding a role,” Young said about competing with the other backs. “Your strengths and weaknesses and strengthening those too. I’m going to compete.”
But no matter what happens with how many carries Young gets or how many snaps he plays, he wants people to know that he’ll do anything to help the team in whatever role is asked of him.
“I’m a team player. I’m going to play for my guys,” Young asserted. “We’re a really good running back room and have a really good coach. Learning from the older guys, learning from the younger guys—they might have something I can learn from too.
“Coach says get 1% better every single day so that's what I’m going to do.”
His size makes him different from the other backs on the team, but he’s much more than a big back who can only run you over. He can move really well and he has the tools to become a unique weapon in Notre Dame’s offense.
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