Why Colbie Young, Miami’s jumbo-sized wideout, thinks getting smaller will make him better
The picture just about everyone painted of Colbie Young’s arrival in Coral Gables last year told the story of someone who couldn’t possibly have been properly and fully prepared for what was about to come. Mario Cristobal joked he was was flown in “by a helicopter’’ and jumped out “right before camp’’ began. Tyler Van Dyke remembered not really taking notice of him until the Miami Hurricanes’ preseason training camp began. Even Young admitted he wasn’t totally ready — not prepared for the South Florida heat or Atlantic Coast Conference speed.
How could he have been? A year ago, he was at Lackawanna College, a junior college in Pennsylvania, and had only just picked up his first scholarship offer. Even eight months ago, Young thought this would just now be the time he was getting to Florida — his original plan was to stay in Scranton, Pennsylvania, for one more JUCO season. Instead, he transferred to Miami just weeks before fall camp began, tried to absorb as much information as possible, offered to play on just about every special teams unit he could and became the Hurricanes’ unlikely top wide receiver.
This spring, then, is a nice change of pace.
“It just feels more relaxing,” Young said Thursday, “more comfortable to actually not rush to learn the offense, to be ready to actually prepare for the offense and be able to prepare my body better for the season.”
Even though Young is only three spring practices into 2023, the extra time time to prepare is already yielding results. The wideout has slimmed down from about 220 pounds to 213, he said, and he feels quicker and more agile than he was last year, when he came almost out of nowhere to catch 32 passes for 367 yards and five touchdowns despite playing with three different starting quarterbacks.
“ACC’s definitely faster than JUCO,” Young said, “so I’ve got to just be able to compete and be able to stay in shape as best as possible.”
Ideally for Miami, it will turn Young into a much more complete all-around receiver.
The vast majority of Young’s production last year came in two weeks in the middle of the season. He made his first start at Virginia Tech and shredded the Hokies for nine catches, 101 yards and two touchdowns, and followed it up with an even better performance a week later when caught six passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Duke, even though Van Dyke got hurt in the first half.
From there, the Hurricanes’ offense fell apart and so did Young’s production. Van Dyke was in and out of the lineup the rest of the way — he didn’t start and finish a game again in 2022 — and neither Jacurri Brown nor fellow quarterback Jake Garcia could ignite anything close to a competent passing attack. Young was not to blame for his quiet ending to the year.
He was also far from perfect, though. At 6-foot-5, Young did nearly all of his work near the sidelines, using his massive frame to win jump balls and make contested catches. This is always what Young has done — even in his one season at Lackawanna, he only caught 24 passes, but nine of them went for touchdowns — and it ultimately made him something of a one-dimensional receiver. He was perfect for an adventurous, risk-taking quarterback like Van Dyke, but not so great for the still-learning freshmen who replaced Van Dyke after his persistent shoulder injuries.
There’s another step for him to take to be a true No. 1 target.
“Whatever coach needs me to help out the offense,” he said, “but when those jump balls — I’ve got to go make plays. That’s the bread and butter, but getting in and out of breaks, undercutting, catching everything that comes my way has got to be a key for me.”
In the first week of spring camp, Young was consistently working with the first-team offense as one of the two outside receivers.
“He’s grown a lot from last season until now,” Van Dyke said March 4, “and he’s still going to grow.”
Last year, their chemistry was instant. Young wasn’t around for the summer workouts or player-organized passing sessions on Greentree Practice Fields. His emergence was entirely organic, a product of Van Dyke finding out in real time just how reliable the newcomer was.
There will still be challenges this year, especially with a new offense to learn as Shannon Dawson is replacing Josh Gattis as offensive coordinator. Continuity, chemistry, and a real offseason to take advantage of everything Division I strength and nutrition programs offer, however, should outweigh them.
“I’m trying to be to the next level,” Young said, “so I’ve just got to be able to perform.”
This story was originally published March 13, 2023 at 10:45 AM.
