Bryant Young
Fourteen seasons, one team, a leg that nearly had to come off, and eight Len Eshmont Awards from the guys who knew him best.
The Bryant Young Story
Bryant Colby Young was born on January 27, 1972, in Chicago Heights, Illinois. He thought he'd make a fine fullback at Bloom High School. His coaches put him in the trenches instead, and he never left.
At Notre Dame he lettered four years from 1990 to 1993 and started for three under Lou Holtz. As a senior he had 6.5 sacks and 67 tackles and was a first team All American. He met his wife, Kristin, in South Bend.
The 49ers took him seventh overall in the 1994 draft, and he started all 16 games as a rookie, made the All Rookie team and had 6 sacks. That team won Super Bowl XXIX, beating San Diego 49 to 26. A rookie defensive tackle was right in the middle of it.
By 1996 he was a monster. He had 84 tackles, 11.5 sacks and two safeties, tying the NFL record for safeties in a season, and was a first team All Pro and a Pro Bowler. In 1997 his sack total dropped to 4, but the 49ers finished first in the league in total defense with him wrecking the middle.
In 1998 he had 9.5 sacks in 12 games, best among defensive tackles in the NFL. Then on Monday night, November 30, 1998, against the Giants at 3Com Park, his right leg was badly broken. There were complications. A metal rod went in, and he said later he could have lost the leg. Kristin was pregnant with their daughter Kai at the time, and almost nobody knew.
He was back for the 1999 opener. He played all 16 games, had 11 sacks, made the Pro Bowl and was the NFL Comeback Player of the Year. That season he also won the Ed Block Courage Award and the team's Matt Hazeltine Award.
His teammates voted him the Len Eshmont Award, the 49ers' top honor for inspirational and courageous play, eight times: 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, and then four more from 2004 to 2007. No other 49er has won it more than twice.
He kept going deep into the 2000s. Pro Bowls in 2001 and 2002, 8 sacks in 2005, and 6.5 sacks in 2007, his 14th and last season. He finished with 89.5 sacks, all in red and gold, and a spot on the NFL All Decade team of the 1990s.
After playing he coached the defensive line at San Jose State in 2010, at Florida in 2011 and 2012, and for the Atlanta Falcons under Dan Quinn, his old position coach, from 2017 until he stepped away to spend more time with his family.
In the fall of 2014, his son Colby, then 13, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Colby fought it for two years and died on October 11, 2016. Young now pours himself into work with the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.
Young was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his tenth year of eligibility, helped along by offensive linemen he used to play against who spoke up for him. On August 6, 2022, presented by Kai and Eddie DeBartolo, he was enshrined in Canton as a member of the Class of 2022. Twenty two, he told everyone, was Colby's favorite number.
What He Meant to Us
Bryant Young never said much, and he never had to. You'd look up and 97 was in the backfield again, and then he'd jog back to the huddle like he'd just carried a bag of groceries in.
I'll never forget that Monday night against the Giants. You could tell right away it was bad. And then he's back for the opener the next year and gets 11 sacks. Eleven. On a rebuilt leg. I still don't really understand how.
He stuck around for a lot of bad football in the 2000s and played every snap like it was 1994. His teammates gave him the Eshmont Award eight times. That tells you more than any stat sheet ever could.
And that speech in Canton, talking about Colby. I don't know anybody who got through it with dry eyes. He's the kind of guy you want your kids to grow up to be.
Why He Was Clutch
As a rookie in Super Bowl XXIX, Young was part of a defensive front that put Stan Humphries on the ground. Humphries hurt his ankle on a Young tackle early in the game, and the 49ers rolled 49 to 26.
His real clutch moment wasn't a play. It was September 1999. Nine months after a broken leg that nearly ended his career, he was on the field for the opener, and he finished the year with 11 sacks and the Comeback Player of the Year award.
And he did the dirty work every week for 14 years. Interior pressure doesn't make highlight shows, but 89.5 sacks from defensive tackle, plus three safeties, is the kind of production that wins games nobody remembers.
Clutch Moments
- January 29, 1995
Super Bowl XXIX
A rookie starter on the 1994 team, Young helped hold San Diego down in Miami. Stan Humphries hurt his ankle on a Young tackle early, and the 49ers won 49 to 26 for the title.
- 1996 season
Two safeties
Young had the best statistical season of his career: 84 tackles, 11.5 sacks and two safeties, tying the NFL record for a season. He was first team All Pro and went to his first Pro Bowl.
- November 30, 1998
The broken leg
Young had 9.5 sacks in 12 games, leading all NFL defensive tackles, when his right leg was badly broken on Monday night against the Giants. The 49ers won 31 to 7, but his season was over and his career was in doubt.
- 1999 season
Comeback Player of the Year
Young was ready for the 1999 opener, played all 16 games, had 11 sacks and 19 tackles for loss and was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year by the AP and the PFWA.
- 2007 season
One last year
In his 14th season, at 35, Young had 6.5 sacks and won his eighth Len Eshmont Award before retiring with 89.5 career sacks, all as a 49er.
- August 6, 2022
Canton
Presented by his daughter Kai and Eddie DeBartolo, Young was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and dedicated part of his speech to his late son, Colby.
The Highlights
What They Said About Young
“During a November 1998 game against the Giants, my right leg was badly broken. There were complications. I could have lost my leg.”
“All I'll say for now is, I never ever wanted to let you down. Thank you.”
“Colby: you live on in our hearts. We will always speak your name.”
“From my pain, I've found purpose. Letting someone grab my hand is as important as reaching for theirs.”
“Life is an amazing journey, and the hard things touch us and grow us in ways that we don't want but are sometimes needed.”
Career Stats
| Year | Team | G | Tkl | Solo | Ast | Sck | Sfty | FF | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | SF | 16 | 44 | 42 | 2 | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1995 | SF | 12 | 28 | 25 | 3 | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1996 | SF | 16 | 75 | 60 | 15 | 11.5 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 1997 | SF | 12 | 45 | 39 | 6 | 4.0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 1998 | SF | 12 | 53 | 42 | 11 | 9.5 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 1999 | SF | 16 | 38 | 34 | 4 | 11.0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 2000 | SF | 15 | 37 | 25 | 12 | 9.5 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 2001 | SF | 16 | 34 | 28 | 6 | 3.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2002 | SF | 16 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | SF | 16 | 32 | 26 | 6 | 3.5 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 2004 | SF | 16 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 3.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2005 | SF | 13 | 34 | 30 | 4 | 8.0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 2006 | SF | 16 | 47 | 36 | 11 | 5.5 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2007 | SF | 16 | 31 | 27 | 4 | 6.5 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Career | 208 | 560 | 459 | 101 | 89.5 | 3 | 11 | 29 |
Tackles before 2001 are unofficial team counts, and other sources list slightly different totals. Tied the NFL record with two safeties in 1996. Scroll the table sideways on a phone.
Bryant Young: Fast Facts
What years was Bryant Young with the San Francisco 49ers?
Bryant Young was with the San Francisco 49ers from 1994 to 2007 as a defensive tackle.
What number did Bryant Young wear?
Bryant Young wore number 97.
What are Bryant Young's signature numbers?
89.5 career sacks, every one as a 49er; 8 len Eshmont Awards, no other 49er has more than two; 11 sacks in 1999, the year after his leg was shattered; 14 seasons, all in red and gold.
What were Bryant Young's biggest honors?
Pro Football Hall of Fame (2022); Super Bowl XXIX champion; NFL Comeback Player of the Year (1999); 2x First Team All Pro (1996, 1998); 2x Second Team All Pro (1999, 2001).
What are some of Young's biggest moments?
Super Bowl XXIX (January 29, 1995); Two safeties (1996 season); The broken leg (November 30, 1998). Every one is in the Clutch Moments section above.
