In 1996, while playing as a true freshman, Young finished his freshman year season with 13 tackles and 1.5 sacks. As a sophomore in 1997, Young finished his sophomore year season with 45 tackles, 7 for a loss, and 3 sacks. As a junior in 1998 Young was named All-WAC and had totaled 72 tackles and 3.5 sacks. As a senior in 1999 at UTEP, Young was named the Western Athletic Conference WAC Defensive Player of the Year for an 84-Tackle |tackle and 8- Quarterback sack|sack season for the UTEP Miners football Miners. He ended his college career at UTEP with a total of 214 tackles and 16 sacks.
Professional Playing career
Pre-draft
Young was the strongest player in the UTEP football program, with a 435-pound bench press and a 675-pound squat.
St. Louis Rams
Young was drafted in the 5th round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams. On July 6, 2000, he signed a 3-year contract worth $950,000. As a rookie, he played in 11 games and made six tackles. The following year, he became a starter for the Rams, he recorded 40 tackles and 6.5 sacks and intercepted a pass for the NFC Champions. In 2002, he played in all 16 games with 2 starts at defensive tackle and 1 start at left defensive end. For the season he had 36 tackles and 2 sacks. As a restricted free agent after the 2002 season, Young signed a one-year tender from the Rams for $610,000. In 2003, he nearly duplicated his 2002 statistics by recording 38 tackles and 2 sacks but in 2003 he had five fumble recoveries. On November 9, 2003, Young tied an NFL record with three fumble recoveries against the Baltimore Ravens and was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week. Young became 15th player in NFL history to recover three fumbles in a game. He also had a career-high 11 tackles, a sack, one quarterback pressure and a forced fumble in the Rams' 33-22 win.
New Orleans Saints
On March 11, 2004, Young signed a four-year, $10 million free-agent contract with the New Orleans Saints. As a starter for the Saints in 2004 Young had 59 tackles and 2.5 sacks. In 2005, he had 51 tackles but failed to record a sack. In 2006 the Saints were the NFL's Cinderella story and Young contributed 46 tackles and 5.5 sacks. In 2007 Young had a pneumonia-shortened year, playing in only 9 games but still he recorded 3 sacks and 18 tackles. On February 29, 2008, the Saints re-signed DT Brian Young to a three-year, $12 million contract. Following a second straight season in which he was placed on injured reserve, he was released on April 28, 2009.
Coaching Career
On July 10, 2009, KTSM-TV, also known as NewsChannel 9, the NBC affiliate based in El Paso, Texas reported that he had retired from the NFL due to his injuries and was considering going into coaching. Though knee injuries ended Brian Young's playing career after nine seasons. He spent the 2009 and 2010 season with the Saints as an unpaid assistant coach intern. As of 2011 Brian Young is a paid defensive coach for the New Orleans Saints. *
