Honors & Awards
» Academic All-Big Ten (2016)
» Big Ten All-Freshman Team (BTN.com, ESPN.com, 2015)
» Nebraska Newcomer of the Year Award (2015)
» Nebraska Record for Most Tackles by a True Freshman (61, 2015)
» Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2018; Spring 2015)
» Brook Berringer Citizenship Team (2016, 2017)
» Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2016, 2017)
2018 (Senior)
Dedrick Young II completed an outstanding career by registering a career-high 83 tackles in 2018. Young started all 12 games as a senior and ranked second on the team with his 83 tackles while becoming the first player in Nebraska history to have four 60-tackle seasons. He had at least three tackles in all 12 games, including eight games with at least seven tackles. Young also had three TFLs as a senior, and he broke up a career-high five passes and recorded his first career interception. Young finished his career with 284 tackles, the fifth-highest total in Nebraska history.
Young recorded nine tackles and tied his career high with two TFLs in the season opener against Colorado. He added another tackle for loss the next week against Troy before totaling six tackles - including five solo stops - at No. 19 Michigan. Young had seven tackles against both Purdue and WIsconsin and made four stops at Northwestern. He added another seven tackles in the Huskers' win over Minnesota, and he also intercepted his first career pass with a pick in the end zone that ended a potential scoring drive. Against Bethune-Cookman, Young had four tackles and added a career-high two pass breakups. At No. 8 Ohio State, Young had a season-high 10 tackles - his fifth career double-figure tackle game - and one pass breakup. He added eight tackles the next week in the Huskers' win over Illinois, and YOung posted his third consecutive eight-tackle game against Michigan State. He finished his career with a 10-tackle effort at Iowa, making seven solo stops en route to his fifth career double-figure tackle game.
2017 (Junior)
Dedrick Young II continued a strong career with another productive season as a junior. He played in all 12 games and tied his career high with 11 starts, finishing with 80 tackles, his third consecutive season with at least 60 tackles. His 80 tackles were a career high, and he had eight games with at least six tackles, including back-to-back games with double-digit tackles against top-10 opponents. Young also added four tackles for loss, 1.0 sack and one pass breakup. He finished his junior season with 201 career tackles, becoming only the fourth Husker to record 200 tackles prior to his senior season.
Young had a five-yard sack, five solo stops and seven total tackles in the season opener against Arkansas State. He had seven more tackles at Oregon and recorded six tackles and one TFL in the Big Ten opener with Rutgers. After registering six tackles at Illinois, Young put together two of his best performances in consecutive games against No. 9 Wisconsin and No. 9 Ohio State. He finished with 10 tackles against the Badgers, marking his third career game with double-digit tackles. Young then produced a career-high 14 tackles, including one tackle for loss, against the Buckeyes. He had three solo tackles and his only pass breakup of the season in his only game off the bench at Purdue before returning to the starting lineup and registering nine tackles against Northwestern. Young added his fourth and final TFL of the season at Minnesota. He finished his season with eight tackles against Iowa, when he became the 36th Husker to reach 200 career tackles.
2016 (Sophomore)
Young played in 12 games and made nine starts, while missing the Maryland game with an injury. Young topped 60 tackles for the second straight year, making 34 solo stops and 26 assists. He added four tackles for loss, a sack and four pass breakups. Young had six games with five or more tackles.
Young opened the year with six tackles, including five solo stops in a win over Fresno State. He had seven tackles at Northwestern, with six solo stops. He added a tackle for loss and a breakup in NU's road win. Young had six tackles and a breakup against Illinois and had a career-high two tackles for loss and his first career sack at Indiana.
Young made a career-best 11 tackles at Purdue, while adding a pair of pass breakups. Young finished the year with six tackles at Iowa and five stops against Tennessee in the Music City Bowl.
2015 (Freshman)
Young became one of just five Husker true freshmen to start a season opener since World War II, and he was one of just four true freshmen linebackers to start any game since 1993. His play earned Young freshman All-Big Ten honors from BTN and ESPN.com. He played in 12 games with 11 starts, while missing the South Alabama game with an injury. Young finished with 61 tackles, including 25 solo stops, and had five tackles for loss. His 61 tackles were the most ever by a Nebraska true freshman. He had seven games with five or more tackles.
Young opened the year with seven tackles and a breakup in his debut against BYU. He recorded a season-high 11 tackles and two tackles for loss in the Big Ten opener at Illinois. A week later he had nine tackles and a pass breakup against Wisconsin. Young had six tackles in back-to-back games against Purdue and Michigan State, and had a tackle for loss agains the Spartans.
Young had four tackles, including two tackles for loss in a decisive victory at Rutgers. He closed the regular season with five tackles and two hurries against Iowa, and had three tackles in the Foster Farms Bowl.
Before Nebraska (Centennial HS)
Young’s play led Coach Richard Taylor’s team deep into the Arizona Division II playoffs for three seasons. In 2014, the Coyotes posted a 12-2 record and won the state championship, winning their four playoff games by an average of nearly 30 points per game. Young keyed the state title season. He rushed for 1,557 yards and 19 touchdowns with nine 100-yard rushing games. In the final three playoff games, Young rushed for a total of 379 yards and five touchdowns. He also totaled 98 tackles, including 55 solo stops, seven tackles for loss and a sack. He added nine hurries, an interception and two breakups.
Young’s versatility was evident in his postseason honors. He was an All-Arizona offensive pick by the Arizona Republic and the publication’s Division II Player of the Year, while the state’s coaches association named him the Division II Defensive Player of the Year.
As a junior, Young rushed for 1,696 yards and 17 touchdowns, while adding 89 tackles, nine tackles for loss, five sacks and three fumbles caused. His play led Centennial to a 10-2 record and a trip to the state playoffs. Young was an All-Arizona selection as a running back.
As a sophomore, Young rushed for 450 yards and 15 touchdowns, while adding 23 tackles and three tackles for loss, helping the Coyotes to a 12-2 record and a state runner-up finish.
Young was a consensus top 10 player in Arizona and Scout ranked him as the nation’s No. 34 linebacker. Young chose Nebraska after also visiting Washington, and he had offers from nearly every Pac-12 school, including Oregon State, UCLA, Arizona and Arizona State.
Personal
The son of Dedrick and Amy Young, Dedrick II was born on Nov. 7, 1996. He earned a bachelor's degree as a supply chain management major at Nebraska in December of 2018. He was named to the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in the spring semester of 2015. Young earned a spot on the Brook Berringer Citizenship Team and the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team in 2016 and 2017 for his outreach work, including the Nebraska Football Road Race, Husker Heroes, Make-a-Wish, the People’s City Mission and hospital visits.