Published Aug 20, 2019
Ute Nation Countdown to Kickoff: Tyrone Young-Smith
Andrew Fronce  •  UteNation
Senior Writer
Twitter
@AFronceRivals

We’re in single digit days until the return of Utah football! In nine days, the University of Utah and BYU will meet for the 100th time in their history, with the Utes looking to win their ninth straight game and 62nd overall in the series. As for the Cougars, they are looking to get back in the win column against Utah for the first time since 2009.

Wearing number nine for Utah this year is a guy who has been a starter since his freshman year, but has had more than his fair share of injuries throughout his career. He’s also seen a few number changes, along with a couple of position changes since arriving on campus, but will spend his senior season at wide receiver, where he started. Of course, this is Tyrone Young-Smith, who will hopefully be able to go out on a high note in his senior season.

Young-Smith spent his first two seasons at wide receiver, recording 28 catches for 341 yards and a touchdown, before moving to cornerback at the end of his sophomore year. From there, injuries started to take their toll, causing Young-Smith to miss all of his true junior year and a good chunk of his redshirt junior year as well. At the beginning of his senior season, Young-Smith started off spring ball hot at receiver, but again, injuries struck, forcing him to miss most of spring camp. His status is uncertain for the season, but you have to hope that he’ll be able to make an impact in what will likely be his final year as a Ute.


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Andrew Fronce’s take

Young-Smith has all the physical traits needed to be a standout receiver or cornerback, and he turned heads at both positions during various points of his career. Unfortunately, after his sophomore season, most of those highlights came in practices, since he’s been injury-plagued over the last few years.

As a receiver, I have some concerns about Young-Smith’s catching ability. He’s got the size, speed, and strength to be outstanding, but there were too many instances the last time he played receiver where he dropped what should have been routine catches. Young-Smith looked very impressive in the first few days of spring camp this year, but then injury struck again, and it seems as if he’s been extremely limited in practices ever since, judging by the lack of buzz around him. With any luck, Young-Smith will be able to heal up and at least see some playing time in a few games this season. If not, that may be the end of his Utah career, unless he’s granted a sixth year due to medical hardship.



Alex remembers Young-Smith's recruitment

Young-Smith was an under-the-radar recruit back in 2014, largely due to his academics. However, this allowed Utah to swoop in and steal him, largely due to the relationship he had built with Morgan Scalley and the fact that others had fallen off due to his grades. As a late addition, he arrived at Utah with the anticipation that he would play defense, but the receiver position was depleted, so the staff put him on offense in an attempt to get his talent on the field, as soon as possible.