Notre Dame DE Bryce Young Shines In Early All-American Bowl Practices

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By Ryan Roberts | Last updated Jan 3, 2024 4:23 PM ET

On Wednesday morning, the East team traveled to Trinity University for the second day of practice for the 2024 All-American Bowl. One of the two Notre Dame recruits who are a part of that squad is 2024 signee Bryce Young, who is an Irish legacy and one of the more physically impressive defensive ends in the country. He had a lot to prove against a long list of the nation’s elite, which continued in this most recent practice.

In these types of all star settings, the first thing people are going to notice is the body type and how each player looks physically. In that department, there may not have been a more impressive defensive lineman for the East squad. Florida signee LJ McCray was the other that looked like he could make an impact in college football right now, but you could argue that Young’s frame offers even more upside.

He looked to be the tallest defensive lineman out there and despite having filled out over the last year, there is still so much more room to grow. Young is going to start his Notre Dame career at field end but don’t be surprised if he eventually makes the transition inside like his father. He clearly has the frame to do so.

The freakiest part about Young, however, is that his weight gain from this past offseason hasn’t sacrificed any athleticism even slightly. For a power based end, Young is a very loose and bendy athlete.

Compared to the other defensive lineman here, and some much smaller than him, Young has some of the best hip mobility overall. That should allow him to rush from wider or shallower alignments at times. This is a part of Young’s game that is extremely unique.

Whether out of a three point or as a standup rusher, Young is very twitchy out of his stance. He has long strides that cover a ton of ground in a hurry. It was something to see on Wednesday.

There weren’t any one-on-one pass rush reps and very limited team situations on Wednesday morning. The East squad did some group work, including inside and outside run toward the end of practice. Young was with the first team consistently.

In that run-centric position of practice, he was used at both outside and inside technique on tight ends. You see his strength, and his outstanding motor consistently throughout. While we didn’t get to see Young as a pass rusher, you can clearly see that his impact in the run game is high as well.

After practice, Young sat down with Irish Breakdown to talk about his week so far, and goals he has set. Later this afternoon, the East and West will be competing in a joint practice, which means all four Notre Dame commits will be together at the Alamodome.