Will Sutton and Carl Bradford have received most of the attention the past two seasons on the Sun Devil defense. However, perhaps no player on the Arizona State defense has been more consistent over the past two seasons than linebacker Chris Young.
After arriving in Tempe from Arizona Western Junior College in 2012, Young was a mainstay in the Sun Devil linebacking corps the past two years. He has made crucial plays and was a consistent force in the middle of the Arizona State defense.
Height: 6-foot-0
Weight: 240 pounds
College Career: Young started all 27 games for the Sun Devils since 2012. He was named to the Second Team All-Pac-12 team in 2013 after tallying a team-high 112 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. Young led Arizona State in tackles in seven games last season and was one of the few Sun Devils selected by Todd Graham to wear the camouflage Pat Tillman jersey.
In 2012, Young started every game and finished third on the team with 82 tackles. Young stayed inside most of his Arizona State career but also saw some time at SPUR linebacker at the end of 2012.
Strengths: Young's production at Arizona State is hard to ignore. He posted over 200 total tackles and 31.5 tackles for loss in two years. He always had a knack for finding the football and made several key plays for Arizona State over the course of the last two seasons. Young is a good tackler and has the ability to take on and shed blocks in his pursuit of the ball.
Weaknesses: Young is a bit undersized for the ILB position at the next level. He has to improve his coverage skills and he has to improve his ability to move laterally. Young ran a 4.85 40-yard dash, which is an average time for a linebacker.
Outlook: Young will have to make it first on special teams in the NFL. He could potentially play outside linebacker in a 4-3 defense or inside linebacker in a 3-4 defense.
Round Projection: 7th-undrafted
Prediction: There are a lot of teams that could use help on special teams or depth at linebacker. The Arizona Cardinals have shown recently that they former Sun Devils (Kerry Taylor, Paul Fanaika) so it would not surprise me for them to grab Young after the draft is over as a free agent.