Follow Coach Young on Twitter: @CAY42
Recruiting Areas:
• Virginia (Virginia Beach Area / Northeast Virginia) and New York
Chris Young begins his fourth season with the Elon football coaching staff in 2022 after joining the program on Jan. 29, 2019, as the wide receivers coach. Young made his way to Elon after serving as the offensive coordinator at Colgate the previous five seasons. In all, Young coached at Colgate for 16 seasons, previously serving as the team's wide receivers coach for the first 11 years of his tenure.
The 2019 campaign saw the resurgence of the Davis Cheek-to-Kortez Weeks connection with the two classmates connecting a team-high 43 times and five touchdowns, including a 53-yard touchdown grab on an out-route at Richmond. The rebirth of the connection came after Weeks was held without a touchdown during the 2018 campaign. In all, Young's receivers caught 16 touchdown passes and helped Davis Cheek throw for 2,175 yards. Young also oversaw the development of receivers like Avery Jones, Bryson Daughtry, Jackson Parham and Chandler Brayboy. Each receiver a sophomore or younger, Jones was second on the team with four touchdown receptions while Daughtry and Parham each stepped up to take a larger role in the Phoenix offense. Brayboy, an early enrollee at Elon during spring ball in 2019, redshirted the season but played in the team's final four games and flashed a strong connection with Phoenix signal callers to build on in 2020.
With injuries at quarterback during the 2020 (spring 2021) season, the wide receiver unit never fully found its rhythm but younger players like Parham and Daughtry continued their development. Parham led the team in receiving yards and yards per reception, while Daughtry was the team leader in receptions. Brayboy also grabbed nine receptions (in six games) and was third on the team in receiving yards.
Parham had a true breakout season in the fall of 2021, leading the team with 57 catches for 820 yards and being named first team All-CAA. In total, four different wide receivers caught at least 35 passes as Elon developed into one of the most explosive passing offenses in the country. Weeks concluded his career with 48 catches for 542 yards and five touchdowns, while Daughtry and Brayboy finished with 35 receptions apiece. Receivers like Jordan Bonner and Caleb Ogunmola developed throughout the campaign as well.
Before joining Elon, Young was part of one of the biggest stories of the 2018 FCS season when Colgate went 10-2 overall and 6-0 in conference play on the way to an appearance in the national quarterfinals after beating James Madison in the second round. Along the way, Colgate averaged 27.0 points per game, including 344.3 yards per outing.
In 2017, Young coached first-year quarterback Grant Breneman to Patriot League Rookie of the Year honors, as the Raiders rolled to their ninth conference championship. During the season, Breneman wrapped up one of the best campaigns by a first-year quarterback in Colgate history, completing 56.7 percent of his passes for 1,594 yards with 18 touchdowns to five interceptions. His 18 TD passes tied him for the fifth-best by a Colgate quarterback in a single season and were the most since 2009. For his efforts, he was named one of 20 finalists for the STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award, presented annually to the nation's best first-year athlete at the FCS level.
Before spending time as Colgate's offensive coordinator, Young spent 11 seasons coaching wide receivers. During his tenure, Young tutored nine First Team All-Patriot League honorees, two Second Team picks and had both starting wide receivers named All-Patriot League in 2005, marking the first time in league history a team had both of its receivers recognized after the regular season by the Patriot League.
During the 2003 season, both J.B. Gerald and Luke Graham broke the school record for receptions in a season on the way to a 15-1 record and a berth in the FCS national title game. One year later in 2004, Graham and Dwayne Long were named First Team All-Patriot League as Colgate finished 7-4. In 2005, Long was again a first Team honoree and helped the Raiders win the Patriot League title.
In 2006 and 2007, Erik Burke was awarded All-League recognitions before Pat Simonds was tabbed First Team All-League and Offensive MVP after breaking the school record for receiving yards in a single season. One year later in 2008, Simonds became only the fifth Colgate player in program history to go over 1,000 yards receiving in a season. Under Young's guidance, he went on to set the school record for touchdowns with 15 in a single season while going over the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season in helping Colgate go 9-2 in 2009.
During his career, Young has shown a great willingness to expand his coaching knowledge. As part of the NFL's Minority Internship Program, Young worked with the Kansas City Chiefs during the summer of 2011 to assist with the quarterbacks and wide receivers. Other stints have come in 2012 with the NCAA/NFL Coaches Academy, in 2013 with the Green Bay Packers' wide receivers and quarterbacks and the San Diego Chargers' wide receivers before working with the Tennessee Titans' receivers in 2015.
Young joined Colgate after time at Albany, where he worked with the Great Danes' tackles and tight ends as a graduate assistant. Prior to Albany, Young served as wide receivers coach during the 2002 season at Canisius.
A three-year letterwinner at Colgate, Young earned First Team All-Patriot League honors in his senior season as a tight end after playing linebacker in his first three seasons with the Raiders.
Born in Mount Vernon, N.Y., Young graduated from Colgate in 1997 with a degree in sociology and anthropology. He and his wife, former Colgate women's lacrosse coach Heather Young, have three daughters – Ela, Mia and Charli – and one son – A.J.
What They're Saying...
Trisciani on Young: "Chris Young has been a very successful coordinator at the FCS level and I'm excited to add another experienced coach like Coach Young from a Top 10 program. Chris has a reputation of developing talent at the wide receiver position, including nine First Team All-Patriot League selections at Colgate. He has 16 years of experience coaching and recruiting student-athletes at a high profile academic institution and he will be a great mentor for our talented group of young receivers."
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Coaching Experience
|
| 2002 |
Wide Receivers, Canisius |
| 2003 |
Graduate Assistant, Albany |
| 2003-13 |
Wide Receivers, Colgate |
| 2014-18 |
Offensive Coordniatory/Quarterbacks, Colgate |
| 2019-Present |
Wide Receivers, Elon |
