WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – The Titans will host the Rams this Sunday at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. Two hours and 45 minutes east of that stadium is Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, near the University of Tennessee's campus.
It was the latter where Byron Young emerged as a fierce edge rusher in the SEC, and later a third-round pick by the Rams in 2023. This weekend, he'll make another visit to the state that changed the trajectory of his pro football career, with a chance to play near family.
"It feels good. I like going back to the South," Young told theRams.com. "Got some family there, family nearby, family who can come to the game. (It's) kind of hard for them to come up here to L.A. but just going back, being two and a half hours away from Knoxville, it's a great feeling, just being close to home and somewhere I grew up, a big part of my life. So definitely excited about going back. I like Nashville."
Becoming a starter as a rookie, Young brought consistent production across each of his first two NFL seasons, contributing 8.5 and eight sacks to the Rams' pass rush in 2023 and 2024, respectively. He kicked off his third season with nine total tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, and two QB hits in a 14-9 Los Angeles win over the Houston Texans this past Sunday, in what head coach Sean McVay this week called one of his "most complete" games he's played in his NFL career.
A First-Team All-SEC performer for Tennessee in 2022 after posting a team-high seven sacks, plus 37 total tackles (12 for loss), Young originally arrived in Knoxville as a junior college recruit out of Georgia Military Academy, where his seven sacks in his first year there (2019) helped make him a Top-15 JuCo prospect. In his first year with the Vols in 2021, his 11.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks both led the team.
Young last November said playing at Tennessee was "the hardest I ever had to work," but Volunteers defensive line coach Rodney Garner had him ready for the NFL.
"This kid doesn't have bad habits, he has no (bad) habits," Garner toldtheRams.com that month. "... So, man, once he grasps it, he can really take off, because it's important to him."
The relationship with that program and Garner in particular is something Young still cherishes, no matter the distance.
"I definitely feel like Coach Garner was a big part of my life, being like another father to me," Young said. "He always said that I was the son he never had, and (he's) definitely someone in my life that I feel like I wouldn't be here without him. He stuck with me, even though, starting out, I was someone that struggled a lot. But at the end of the day, he's always been there for me. So going back, it always bring back memories. I always think about him. We be talking sometimes and stuff like that, and he just be telling me how proud he is of me and everything. But definitely a place where it brings back memory and I'm thankful for."
