Rickey Darnell Young (born December 7, 1953) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Jackson State Tigers.
College career Young played college football at Jackson State University and was a teammate of Walter Payton, his nephew, and Robert Brazile, his cousin.
Professional career Young was selected in the seventh round of the 1975 NFL draft with the 164th overall pick by the San Diego Chargers. After playing three years for the Chargers (1975–1977) he was traded to the Minnesota Vikings for All-Pro guard Ed White. In his first season with the Vikings (1978) he led the NFL with 88 receptions, breaking Chuck Foreman's record for receptions by a running back in a season.Currently held by Matt Forte with 102 in 2014. He played in six seasons with the Vikings, but retired after seeing limited action in 1982 and 1983. He retired with 1,011 rushes for 3,666 yards and 23 touchdowns, along with 408 catches (then an NFL record for running backs) for 3,285 and 16 touchdowns.
In his nine seasons in the NFL, Young did not miss a single game, playing in all 131 contests that his teams played in that span. In the 1984 season, the Miami Dolphins reached out to Young about playing for the team after the injury to Andra Franklin. However, Young failed the drug test and was ultimately not signed.
NFL career statistics Legend Led the league Bold Career high
Regular season Year Team Games Rushing Receiving GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD 1975 SDG 14 8 138 577 4.2 48 5 21 166 7.9 16 1 1976 SDG 14 14 162 802 5.0 46 4 47 441 9.4 33 1 1977 SDG 14 14 157 543 3.5 15 4 48 423 8.8 28 0 1978 MIN 16 16 134 417 3.1 16 1 88 704 8.0 48 5 1979 MIN 16 16 188 708 3.8 26 3 72 519 7.2 18 4 1980 MIN 16 16 130 351 2.7 14 3 64 499 7.8 22 2 1981 MIN 16 13 47 129 2.7 13 0 43 296 6.9 22 2 1982 MIN 9 1 16 49 3.1 11 1 4 44 11.0 25 1 1983 MIN 16 4 39 90 2.3 9 2 21 193 9.2 48 0 131 102 1,011 3,666 3.6 48 23 408 3,285 8.1 48 16
Playoffs Year Team Games Rushing Receiving GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD 1978 MIN 1 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 4 49 12.3 24 0 1980 MIN 1 1 2 0 0.0 0 0 6 57 9.5 23 0 1982 MIN 2 0 1 6 6.0 6 0 2 13 6.5 8 0 4 2 3 6 2.0 6 0 12 119 9.9 24 0
References
External links