UNT lands tight end Brandon Young Jr. thanks largely to bond with assistant coach

Young announced his decision on Twitter and spoke to the Denton Record-Chronicle about the reasons behind it a short time later.

UNT was the first school to offer Young a scholarship shortly after its junior day earlier this year. Tight ends coach Chris Gilbert has been recruiting Young ever since.

“My relationship with coach Gilbert was the first part of it,” Young said. “He bonded with me and my family quickly. North Texas also likes to throw the ball in its spread offense. That makes it a great fit for a tight end.”

Interest in Young picked up shortly after UNT offered him a scholarship. He ended up choosing the Mean Green over offers from Louisiana-Monroe, Arkansas State, UNLV, Army and Air Force.

Young, who is 6-foot-6 and 240 pounds, has a 3.6 GPA, making him an intriguing prospect for Army and Air Force.

What Young saw during the Mean Green’s summer camp for top prospects helped convince him that UNT is the right fit for his college career.

“Coming to the camp gave me a better idea about what North Texas has to offer,” Young said. “Coach Gilbert is a great coach. Whenever I did something wrong, he pointed it out so I could fix it.”

Young flew under the radar as far as his recruiting process until this spring due to missing a big chunk of his junior season. He broke his wrist during the year.

Young finished with nine catches for 72 yards and also had one carry for 10 yards.

His best game came late in the season against Duncanville. Young finished with four catches for 24 yards to go along with his 10-yard run.

Young is confident he will be a larger part of Legacy’s offense this fall in his senior year as he prepares to continue his career with UNT. The Mean Green are hoping to see the payoff from their summer recruiting camps over the next few weeks.

The Mean Green have hosted hundreds of players over the last few days and have one more camp for elite prospects coming up later this summer.

UNT has six players committed so far, including Young, the first player to commit since its summer camps series began.

The experience Young had during his visit played a key role in his decision.

“I felt like I was at home and so did my family,” Young said. “I talked to them about it. It was the right decision.”