Byron Young reacts to experience at Senior Bowl

Tennessee edge Byron Young showed off his talents at the Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama last week, as he prepares for the 2023 NFL Draft.

Following the event, Young spoke with Eric Cain of Volquest to elaborate on his experience at the Senior Bowl.

“It was amazing,” started Young. “A dream come true. … The Senior Bowl. The best of the best. Going against guys all over college. It was great. Going against all different type of skillsets and offensive lineman. Being able to showcase my talents in-front of the scouts and coaches. Just having an opportunity to do that. I was thankful.”

The size of the opportunity is far from lost on Young. He recognizes how important the week in Mobile was, and he’s more than appreciative to have been there.

Moreover, Young only spent two seasons with the Vols, but made the most of them, recording 83 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, and 12.5 sacks.

He displayed his game-wrecking abilities on multiple occasions in 2022, winning SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors twice last season. Versus Pitt his had four tackles, a game-high two tackles for loss, a sack, and a game-high three quarterback hurries and then three weeks later topped his performance versus LSU with a career-high 2.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss along with five total tackles and five quarterback pressures.

Time will tell which NFL team brings Byron Young to town, but he certainly endeared himself to a couple over his time in Mobile.

Byron Young shares what he learned during Senior Bowl

Continuing, Young added some more context about his experience, detailing what he learned and the areas he improved on.

“Oh yeah most definitely, especially playing the run. One of my biggest things I wanted to show the coaches and the scouts my ability to set the edge and run,” Young said. 

Young put his skills on display all week at practice while also picking up some new knowledge along the way, which paid off on game day. In the Senior Bowl Young recorded two tackles along with a quarterback hurry that led to an interception return for a touchdown for the American team. 

“So I definitely feel like I got better there just listening to the coaches and seeing the improvement on the field was amazing,” Young said. 

Improvement has been the theme of Young’s entire career, spending his first years of his college career in junior college, attending Georgia Military College. He was regarded as one of the top defensive prospects at the junior college level and enrolled at Tennessee in January 2021. 

The coaches voted him All-SEC First Team following the 2022 season, and his career not only earned him an invite to the Reese’s Senior Bowl, but the East-West Shine Game as well. 

Alas, there’s no question that Young was one of the best defensive lineman and edge rushers in the SEC this season, as he looks to continue that trend at the next level. The 2023 NFL Draft class is loaded with talent at Young’s position, and it’ll definitely be interesting to see where he lands in April following the NFL Combine and his pro day at Tennessee.

On3’s Kaiden Smith contributed to this article.