Who is Colbie Young? Miami turned to a JUCO to find Tyler Van Dyke’s new favorite target
Colbie Young didn’t even realize his touchdown Saturday — the second in as many weeks for the Miami Hurricanes’ out-of-nowhere new No. 1 wide receiver — was made with just one hand.
“I didn’t even know,” he said after Miami beat the Virginia Tech Hokies, 20-14, in Blacksburg, Virginia. “It was just a moment thing.”
It was another whirlwind moment for the sophomore in a year full of them so far.
Back in the winter, Young didn’t have a single scholarship offer — and his only offer out of New York’s Binghamton in the Class of 2020 was as a walk-on for the FCS Albany Great Danes. Less than six months ago, he figured he’d be spending this season back in Scranton, Pennsylvania, for a second season of junior college at Lackawanna College. Even a few weeks ago, he was buried deep on the Hurricanes’ depth chart, still trying to find his footing at a new school and new level of college football.
Now, the 6-foot-5, 215-pound receiver is quarterback Tyler Van Dyke’s favorite target and one of the nation’s most unlikely breakout performers of October so far.
Last Saturday, Young popped up on the stat sheet for the first time, catching three passes for 43 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown in the Hurricanes’ heartbreaking loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels. On Saturday, he proved his late contributions were no aberration, exploding for nine catches, 110 yards and another touchdown.
“He made some unbelievable catches,” Van Dyke said. “He’s going to continue to step up for us.”
Young set up Miami’s first touchdown by reaching out his right hand and reeling in a 37-yard one-handed catch down the right sideline to get the Hurricanes (3-3, 1-1 Atlantic Coast) down Virginia Tech’s 5-yard line. In the second quarter, he ran across the middle and made another one-handed catch with his right hand to score a 17-yard touchdown and push Miami’s lead on the Hokies (2-5, 1-3) up to 17-0.
As good as those two plays were, Young’s consistency is what was most important. Young is now the only wideout on the roster with a 100-yard game on his resume and his 11 catches are now the seventh most on the team.
With wide receivers Xavier Restrepo and Jacolby George still likely out for several more weeks, Young is giving Van Dyke the possession receiver he badly needs and he can make the contested catches needed to elevate an offense, too.
“He just wants more,” coach Mario Cristobal said, “and he’s going to get more.”
It’s particularly impressive given how briefly he has been in South Florida. Young just orally committed the Hurricanes in June and was one of the last players on the team to enroll in school. He wasn’t with the Hurricanes for spring practices or summer workouts and still doesn’t have a full grasp of the playbook.
“You might as well fly by in a helicopter and jump out right before camp, and start training and start getting ready to play football,” Cristobal said. “He just goes.”
Evidently, he has been a fast learner at his emergence synced up perfectly with the bye week. After Miami got a week to just focus on itself and reassess the roster, Young became a fixture in the rotation and it’s hard to imagine he’ll fall out, even once Restrepo and George return.
“It took a while to just get a whole new feel of a whole new offense,” Young said. “They wanted to see me succeed. They just didn’t want to rush me too bad.”
