The Mighty Munchkin - Air Force Center

CLEANS 370% Story By Kim Goss, B.A., C.S.C.S. Assistant Strength In an offense dominated by the run, knockdown knockdown blocks last year, with a career-high of 39 against Texas-El Paso. He even carried the ball once, for D.T. Young is the starting center for the Falcons. He played the 1990 season weighing less than 220 pounds and expects to play this season at 225 pounds. Although 225 pounds “fumblerooski.” An offensive tackle before the 1990 season, Young is considered a light bodyweight for a college had to be moved after All-Western Athletic Conference lineman, at the Air Force Academy it’s the right center Paul Walski suffered a career-ending knee injury in bodyweight for Young.

spring ball. “Coach Noblitt must be psychic,” says Young.

“When | was a sophomore he had me taking snaps during the season so I would know how to play center.” Like most Air Force Academy football players, the highlight of Young’s playing career so far was upsetting 17th ranked Ohio State in the 1990 Liberty Bowl. Rated as much as a 17-point underdog, Head Coach Fisher DeBerry’s Falcons Young, “Ohio State was a great team and they definitely had talent, but they had the wrong mind set for that game. When we started having success they didn’t know how to react — they just couldn’t believe they were losing.” Young says the toughest nose guard he has ever played against was Chris Zorich, but not for the reason most people assume.

“At 6-foot and 280 he was huge, but I believe it was great speed that made Zorich so good.” Young also says the hardest hitter he ever faced, “No question,” was his former teammate Steve Brennen. The starting nose guard for the 1990 season, Brennen could clean 355 pounds. Young attended Alief Elsik High School in Houston, Texas. He played his first two years on defense and the following two years on offense. He was selected AllDistrict twice and was named to the All-Greater Houston team as a senior. He also lettered twice in track and was a member of the National Honor Society. Air Force Academy Coach Bob Noblitt visited Young in his senior year.

Young eventually narrowed his choice for colleges down to Air Force and Rice, “but after seeing all those ‘Right Stuff’ movies I decided I wanted to fly.” Young believes that one of the biggest differences between high school and college ball is the summer workouts. “The summer workouts at the Academy are 10 times the intensity of what they were in high school.” Such intensity has enabled Young to record some impressive stats on weightlifting and field tests. He achieved his goal of running the 40-yard dash in 4.60 and has a personal best of 370 pounds in the power clean. This lift ties the school record held by 1987 Outland Trophy winner Chad Hennings.

“As soon as I came here I saw that clean record and I wanted to beat it,” says Young. Considering that Hennings outweighed Young by 40 pounds, it’s no wonder Young has earned the nickname, “The Mighty Munchkin.”

Strength and conditioning Coach Jack Braley is not only impressed with Young’s accomplishments in the weightroom, but also with his attitude. “David Todd Young is the closest thing to perpetual motion I have ever seen -- he doesn’t have an off-switch. It’s no wonder he is, pound-for-pound, one of the most powerful athletes the Air Force Academy has ever had.” Young says he loves being a center because “it’s great to be in the middle of the action,” but admits that it takes hard work to master the skills of the position. “You have to learn how to make your move while taking your steps, and you need quick feet.”

The toughest aspect of the position for Young, however, is learning all the habits of the different quarterbacks. This season Young went through three starting quarterbacks before the coaches finally settled on Rob Perez, so Young constantly had to adjust his technique. “All quarterbacks have different ways they want the ball snapped -- they get frustrated when the ball doesn’t hit them right.” Of Perez, voted the most valuable player in the 1990 Liberty Bowl, Young says he inspires confidence without coming across as cocky. “Rob gets us more fired up in the huddle. He doesn’t have the athletic talent of Dee Dowis, but he makes MIGHTY MUNCHKIN up for it by the way he takes command.”

Young believes the Clean, Squat, and Incline Bench Press are the most important exercises for football, but he likes Step-ups and Falcon lunges “because they develop knee stability, I also like to do a lot of shoulder exercises, like the Behind-the-neck push press, because they keep you from getting injured and make you more solid.”

Also, says Young, “You've got to keep up with your Young's favorite magazines, and in high school his coach “would leave out all the back issues for us to read.” Young says he enjoyed all the inspirational articles about top players and teams, but was most interested “in learning how the top college players trained.” Although smart training methods and hard work are important to success in any sport, Young strongly believes that college football is “a lot more mental than people think.” Says Young, “If you’re in high school and want to play college ball, you better keep your head on straight. a positive attitude can make up for a lot of obstacles.”

One of the obstacles for D.T. Young was his lack of size, but mental toughness and the support of his coaches have made him a giant on the field. Says Young, “When I first came to Air Force I thought I was too small to play offense, but Coach Noblitt and Coach DeBerry kept saying, ‘No, you're not.’ They were right.”

Coach Shepard met D.T. after the UtahAir Force Game and said, “D.T. played Super smart and was largely responsible for the first touchdown. He got Utah twice on offside penalties. One thing though, to say D.T. is 6-1 225 is stretching things, so his play is all the more amazing.”

D.T. Young Has Jerked 355 Pounds Overhead

From BFS Magazine — Winter 1991. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).