Iowa defensive back Devonte Young gets rewarded on the field for staying the course
By Pat Harty
AMES, Iowa – When Devonte Young made a verbal commitment to the Iowa football team, he really meant it.
At a time when an alarming number of college athletes bail at the first sign of disappointment, especially in football and men’s basketball, Young is a refreshing exception.
The senior from Waldorf, Md., never has started for the Hawkeyes, and he even switched positions from receiver to defensive back last season in hopes of expanding his role beyond just special teams.
But it was Young’s role on special teams that finally helped to secure Iowa’s 18-17 victory over Iowa State on Saturday in a game that was interrupted by two weather delays that lasted for nearly three hours in Ames.
Young recovered a fumbled punt with 1 minute, 29 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and that is when he and his teammates and coaches and Hawkeye fans finally could breathe a sigh of relief.
And then about 30 minutes later, Young was being interviewed by the media, along with about a dozen of his teammates, all of whom were starters in Saturday’s game, including junior receiver and kick returner Ihmir Smith-Marsette.
“You've always got to have those people who are committed to the program,” Smith-Marsettte said. “They’ll go out there and they’ll risk anything for it. So just having those types of people on the team is tremendous.
“He’s my lead blocker on kickoff returns. He’s just somebody that I can depend on to give me a block and spring me free. It’s always good to have someone like that on the team who actually contributes to big games and big plays. It’s just somebody we love to have.”
Young’s loyalty is a tribute to him, and to the Iowa program.
He is obviously determined to finish what he started, and to honor his commitment to Iowa, while his experience at Iowa has given him reason to feel so strongly about staying the course.
A lack of playing time and distance from home are often reasons why college athletes transfer.
Young hasn’t started a game in college, and his hometown is approximately 936 miles from Iowa City, and yet, his allegiance to Iowa has remained strong.
“The reason why I stayed is because there is no better place than Iowa,” Young said. “So it’s not like I wanted to transfer or anything. None of that stuff was even in my mind, honestly. I was just thinking I committed here, I’m on this team and this is what I want to do. I’m giving this my all for four years, so this is what I wanted to do.
“It’s just a family environment. We help each other through the ups and downs, the young guys, the old guys, coaches, we all communicate with each other and we all get it done.”
That statement speaks volumes about the culture at Iowa under head coach Kirk Ferentz.
The fact that Young is content with being mostly a special teams player at a school far from his home, when he could've transferred for more playing time says a lot about the Iowa program, the University of Iowa and Young himself.
Everyone can't be a star, or even a starter, but everyone can buy into the team first mentality and still play a key role, as is the case with Young.
Football has brought Young together with teammates from all over the country, and there is so much more to being a student-athlete than just playing the sport itself.
Recruits are often told to pick a school where they would feel the most comfortable and inspired if they couldn’t play sports anymore.
Young has been fortunate to avoid injury, but it now seems apparent that he picked Iowa for more than just what he hoped to accomplish on the field.
Young picked Iowa because of the people associated with the program, and because he felt it was the best place for him to grow, on and off the field.
And though he hasn’t played significant role on the field, Young has certainly been a key performer and leader on special teams, and has grown off the field into a soft-spoken young man who understands the value of staying the course and who appreciates being a part of something that is bigger than him.
Those are qualities that should carry Young a long way in life.
“I think they can because you always go through ups and downs in your career and you never know what can happen in life,” Young said. “In the future, somebody could lose their job, but that doesn’t mean they’re just done for the rest of their life. You’ve got to go out and find another job and stuff like that.
“So I look at it as like switching from offense to defense and finding my role on special teams, you just have to find where you fit.”
The problem is that some college athletes aren’t willing to work through the ups and downs or accept the results and consequences.
So they transfer, and it’s easier to do now with the NCAA transfer portal giving college athletes more flexibility and freedom to switch schools.
And no school, including Iowa, is immune from it. Iowa has had eight players from the 2017 recruiting class leave the program, and seven from Young's 2016 recruiting, class, including two because of injuries.
But on the other hand, just because somebody transfers doesn’t mean they’re disloyal or unwilling to fight through adversity because every case is different and because a student-athlete has to act in his or her best interest.
College is an important time in a person’s life, and a time when important decisions have to be made that could have life-changing consequences.
Young, like every player on the Iowa team, was a celebrated athlete in high school. He made first-team all-state as a defensvie back and was named his conference’s player of the year as a senior.
You don’t achieve those things without being talented and without having an ego.
Young had dreams of being a star when he arrived at Iowa because everybody does. It’s just part of the process.
But he also has put the team over his ego and learned that there is value and reward with staying the course and honoring a commitment.
A football team is like one, big emotional family and few things are stronger than the bond between teammates.
“He’s one of my closest friends and he’s really a hard worker,” senior cornerback Michael Ojemudia said of Young. “You could see his transition from wide receiver to (defensive back), there’s been a lot of stuff that he does for this team that goes unnoticed.
“But today, just his hard work, you can see that it paid off because he’s really a big effort guys for us.”
Young is an effort guy, and so much more.
He could’ve easily transferred from Iowa when it became apparent that starting on either offense or defense would be beyond his reach.
He also could’ve moved home, or closer to home to be near the comfort and care of his family and friends.
But Young made a decision to be a Hawkeye, and with that decision came a commitment that has withstood disappointment, frustration and the loneliness from being so far from home.
So it makes you feel good to see him get rewarded on the field for being loyal and unselfish.