Naturally gifted Cardinal Mooney receiver commits to Purdue

Kymistrii Young overcame a lack of football experience to become a D-I recruit.


Cardinal Mooney receiver Kymistrii Young had a breakout performance in last year's Kickoff Classic preseason game against Booker with three touchdowns.
Cardinal Mooney receiver Kymistrii Young had a breakout performance in last year's Kickoff Classic preseason game against Booker with three touchdowns.
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Kymistrii Young had never played an organized sport until his freshman year at Parrish Community High School.

Now, the rising senior wide receiver at Cardinal Mooney Catholic is preparing to base his future around football after committing to play for Purdue University on June 1. 

Young chose the Boilermakers over scholarship offers from 23 other Division-I programs including Miami, Florida State, Penn State and Michigan State.

“Some schools offered me, but I feel like they offered me just to offer me,” said Young, who said he felt as though the coaching staff at Purdue made him a priority recruit. “When me and my family went up there, it just felt great.”

The fact Young has garnered that type of interest at the next level might not shock anyone who has watched him play wide receiver for the Cougars on Friday nights, but it’s something he never even considered for himself four years ago. 

Young, who has 13 siblings, grew up with his grandmother, Ava Lawerence, in St. Petersburg. He said his grandmother didn’t want him to play sports — or even go outside — because of the threat of violence in their neighborhood. 

When his father, Gary Young, earned custody of him the summer going into his seventh-grade year and he moved in with him in Parrish, that changed.

Kymistrii Young turned himself into a Division-I caliber football player despite never playing the sport before high school.
Image courtesy of Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School

Young’s father encouraged him to try playing sports, and with cousins like Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson and former USF receiver Amarri Jackson, there was a good chance Young had some natural athleticism as well. 

Young’s first organized football experience came as a freshman at Parrish Community and he made an immediate impact with 14 receptions for 181 yards and two touchdowns as the team’s only freshman to record offensive stats in more than one game.

Even with some early success, Young had to make up for missed time. That meant learning plays, adjusting to a practice schedule and keeping the faith when things didn’t go his way at times.

“Everybody always has doubts when it gets hard,” he said. “Everybody’s going to be like, ‘Oh, I can’t do this,’ but you just keep pushing because you can’t quit once you start something. That’s what my dad told me.”

After catching two touchdowns in the spring game of his freshman year, Young started to realize he could have a future in football. 

He became Parrish’s top scoring threat in the passing game as a sophomore with 22 receptions for 483 yards and a team-high eight receiving touchdowns. 

However, playing football at Parrish didn’t suit Young, who said that he needed more structure. That led him to transfer to Cardinal Mooney, where he has blossomed into a highly sought-after D-I caliber player.

Young found what he was looking for at Cardinal Mooney, including what he said was the ‘best coach he’s played under’ in head coach Jared Clark, academic encouragement that has helped him raise his GPA to a 3.3 and the exposure to college recruiters that comes with playing alongside other D-I prospects.

The competition he faced in practice every day last year may have made the biggest difference. 

Matched up against cornerback Chris McCorkle, now a Kansas Jayhawk, Young had to adjust to a new level of play. 

“I don’t think he was used to losing, and Chris would get him sometimes, so he had to fight through that,” Clark said. “A guy like that who has had a ton of success and is naturally gifted at football, he struggled when he got here during fall camp when him and Chris were going at it.” 

Clark said Young was primarily utilized on go routes and fades at Parrish because he was a 6-foot-2 receiver with speed. 

Now, however, Young has become a polished all-around receiver. 

After an explosive preseason performance against Booker last year with what Clark estimates was 200 yards and three touchdowns, Young would be the team’s top receiver. 

He finished with 25 receptions for 626 yards and 10 touchdowns — leading the Cougars in each category — and Clark said Young should be even better this fall. 

Even with those stats, Young didn’t arrive on the radar of many college recruiters until he ran a 4.4-second 40-yard dash at a football camp this spring.

Then, the offers began to flood in.

Three years after playing football for the first time, Young has raised his expectations.

He said he hopes to have 1,000 receiving yards in his senior season this fall, and carry that success with him to college.

“I just want to leave a legacy there,” Young said. “Wherever I go, I want to have a legacy at the end.” 

 

author

Vinnie Portell

Vinnie Portell is the sports reporter for the East County and Sarasota/Siesta Key Observers. After graduating from USF in 2017, Vinnie worked for The Daily Sun as a sports reporter and Minute Media as an affiliate marketer before joining the Observer. His loyalty and sports fandom have been thoroughly tested by the Lions, Tigers and Pistons.

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