The Recruiting Guy

UNDER THE RADAR: Searcy's Tony Young

Searcy athlete Tony Young. Photo courtesy of Kaylee Harrison.

Each Wednesday, we feature an in-state prospect that could be flying under the radar of college coaches. This week's UTR prospect is Searcy’s Tony Young.

Class: 2019

Position: Athlete

Size: 6-0, 190

Junior stats: Recorded 83 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 14 pass breakups, an interception and a forced fumble.

Interest: UAPB and Arkansas Tech offers; Harding and others interested

Coach Mark Kelley:

“He’s really a combination of his size and athleticism. He’s just one of those rare guys that moves real well, and he’s got the size to do a lot of things. He’s amazing catching the ball. He’s made some of the best catches I’ve seen in a long time for a high school kid. He’s one of those guys that once he gets in the open field; it’s really hard to bring that guy down.”

Played running back as a sophomore, moved to safety as a junior; now plays offense

“Midway through the offseason I looked at our DB coach and said, ‘I’m about to take that dude back.' He’s a freak. He catches the ball well. We knew he was going to be a heck of a running back, but we also knew he was athletic enough to play safety or linebacker.”

Could play both sides of the ball on the next level:

“I think he could go either way. I really think he’s going to have a special year. He’s going to put up some numbers that are going to be outrageous. Somebody might see his moves with his frame and realize he could be 6-0, 220 and run like a deer and put him outside linebacker or safety.”

Kelley believes Young is under-recruited:

“I think he is. He’ll probably be one of the best athletes in our conference. Probably top three or four just natural football players. I think it will be pretty obvious in the next month or so — people will take notice of him.”