Auburn's Chris Young keeps hits coming

AUBURN — Football wasn't a big hit with Chris Young as a kid. The pads were a pain. The heat was a hassle.

But he stuck with the game and has developed into one of the biggest hitters in the state.

Young thanks his father for not letting him quit.

"I think my dad made an excellent choice," he said with a grin.

So do many others, including Washington coach Steve Sarkisian, who offered Young a football scholarship last spring.

Young, who committed to the Huskies soon after, didn't take long to turn heads at Auburn High School. Coach Gordon Elliott was constantly prodded to bring him up to the varsity as a ninth-grader. But the Trojans had tons of talent, led by quarterback/safety Kellen Kiilsgaard, and Young had to bide his time on the freshman team until the unbeaten varsity got to the playoffs.

In Auburn's playoff opener against Nathan Hale, Young made a lasting impression with a monster block on a punt return.

"The first thing that hit the ground was the back of the kid's helmet, so we knew he was going to be a pretty big hitter when he could do that as a freshman," Elliott said.

Young easily recalls the play, too.

"I remember it like it was yesterday," Young said, looking out on the Auburn Memorial Stadium field. "It was like over there on the 40 and I saw Aaron Johnson running down the sideline and I was like, 'Oh, I'm out to get somebody.' I saw the guy and just had to get him."

Young completed the 61-0 blowout by scoring a 50-yard touchdown on his first varsity carry. Auburn's state-championship bid was eventually derailed by Bellevue in the Class 3A semifinals.

Young became a full-time starter at free safety as a sophomore, although he missed time with a painful bruised thigh. Last season, when Auburn returned to Class 4A, Young was impressive enough to be voted Defensive Back of the Year in the South Puget Sound League North. He was the Trojans' second-leading tackler behind linebacker Jeff Gouveia, with 74.

Many of those tackles were memorable.

"He might be about as explosive an athlete as I've seen with that kind of snap when he hits somebody," Tahoma coach Tony Davis said.

Federal Way coach John Meagher said Young is the kind of player teams have to game-plan around.

"We have to make sure we account for him on every play," Meagher said. "He's a tremendous athlete, very physically gifted."

Young (6 feet 1, 220 pounds) placed fifth at the 4A state wrestling tournament last season. He is projected as an outside linebacker in college and is ranked No. 2 in the West at that position by Scout.com, a recruiting service.

Young likes to deliver blows as a running back, too, regularly plowing over would-be tacklers.

"He's the most physical football player I've ever coached in high school," said Elliott, entering his eighth season at Auburn and 19th overall at the high-school level.

Gouveia was Auburn's touchdown machine last season, scoring a school-record 31. But Young got in the end zone 10 times and rushed for more than 1,100 yards. With Gouveia graduated, Young likely will be the Trojans' go-to guy, although Elliott likes to spread the ball around.

Young, who spent much of the summer trying to improve his academic standing after some early struggles, said he'll do whatever he can to help the Trojans improve on last year's finish, when they were knocked out in the state quarterfinals by eventual champion Skyline. Defense remains his focus.

"I like striking fear into my opponent's eyes," he said.

And with the big hits he delivers, there's good reason for that fear.

Sandy Ringer: 206-718-1512 or sringer@seattletimes.com