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By KATHERINE SMITH, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 17, 2007

Video: Young Hits Books, Defenses
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TAMPA - It only seems appropriate that a speedy receiver would become attached to a dog named 'Blast.'

There were lots of dogs that Darrell Young worked with, but Blast stood out.

Young's job at the Jefferson County Kennel Club in Monticello required him to be around a lot of dogs. For two years, his duties included putting the dogs in the boxes just before each race, cleaning the dogs and keeping them warm.

Blast was special. At times, Young would talk to him. It made a tough job a little easier.

'He was a real fast dog,' Young said. 'I actually bet on him one time and he won me $25.

'I loved that dog.'

It wasn't the job Young envisioned for himself, but he needed it. The dog track job helped pay the rent and put food on the dinner table for his family.

The dog track also took him away from his greatest passion, football. It took him away from his studies and his grades suffered.

'I've had some problems down the road and I've managed to come back and build things and start back over,' said Young, the Jefferson High wide receiver and return specialist.

Young's problems began when his mother moved him from Tampa to Monticello after his freshman year. The purpose of the move was mostly to meet the father he had never known.

His mother introduced him to a man she said was his father. Finally, Young was face to face with the one man he had wanted to meet his entire young life. A DNA test, however, said the man wasn't Young's father.

'The whole thing turned out not to be true and I cried,' Young said. 'There are some things that you have to look at and you have to say they make us stronger in life.'

Stronger or not, Monticello wasn't a conducive environment for the goals Young had set for himself. He had many doubters trying to drag him down.

'There were people on the streets that used to tell me that I wasn't going to make it,' Young said. 'That I was going to be like one of them standing on the corner and selling drugs or either in jail.'

Not wanting to see potential go to waste, Young's uncle Ernest came to Monticello and got him. Having seen his nephew play football, Ernest Mills knew he was wasting an opportunity. Mills got permission from Young's mother to move him back to Tampa.

'I just love the game of football and I don't ever want to get out of it,' Young said. 'I have always had speed. My speed can take me a long way in life.

'It can take me in life really far.'

Speed brought Young back to Tampa in January. His uncle saw him running around his backyard in Monticello and realized he needed to be an environment to foster that talent.

That environment was Jefferson High, but there was a lot of work to be done.

Young came to Tampa with a 1.4 GPA. He got a hardship from the FHSAA for an extra year of eligibility with the stipulation he improve his grades. Young immediately went to work taking extra classes.

'He's got that drive,' Jefferson High athletic director Bob Morgan said. 'Just talking to him, you know he's got the drive. He's just one of those kids, and we get a lot of them who come through here, that you can just see the light that they want to do what the need to do.

'He's matured immensely in the last couple of years and he's been put in situations that you don't want to see young people put in ...but he's moving in the right direction.'

This semester, with his GPA up to a 2.5 and about to climb higher with a report card full of A's and B's, Young has really taken to his marine biology class. He likes the ocean and wants to scuba dive some day. English class is another favorite. He's reading Tony Dungy's book 'Quiet Strength,' and thinks every football player should read it.

'We all have quiet strength in us, but some of us just don't notice it,' Young said.

Surviving numerous setbacks, Young discovered his own quiet strength.

Every morning he wakes up and stares at a picture of his cousin C.J. Mills. C.J., who was shot and killed in his driveway on April 25, serves as motivation for Young. The two dreamed of playing football together at Jefferson. Now, Young plays in C.J.'s memory, though he's not the only inspiration.

Young dreams of playing college football. He has received letters of interest from USF, Pittsburgh and Middle Tennessee State. Young also still dreams of meeting his father.

For all of his life, Young yearned to know his father. He longed to have him sit in the stands of a stadium and watch him play football.

He wanted someone, a male figure, to teach him how to be a man, how to treat others with respect. Actually, Young would settle for a father who simply gave him a hug after a football game.

'Sometimes when I see other kids with their dads, it kind of breaks my heart that I don't have one,' he said.

An area private investigator has stepped forward offering her services in locating Young's father. Young said he believes the investigator has tracked him down in North Florida.

'I believe he's out there and he would be proud of me,' Young said. 'Every son needs a father. He'd be proud of the things I'm doing, so I wish that I can meet him one day.'

COMING NEXT WEEK: It's homecoming week and all that entails, including a game on Thursday and a dance Friday night at Raymond James Stadium. Some of the players will be donning tuxedos for the dance, while others are planning on just attending the after-parties.

Reporter Katherine Smith can be reached at (813) 259-7860 or ksmith@tampatrib.com.

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