BYU, NFL Legend Steve Young Shares Story On Best Athlete He Ever Faced
Aug 20, 2024, 11:08 AM
Steve Young speaks during BYU Education Week at the Marriott Center in Provo on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News)
(Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah — Steve Young took a chair on the BYU’s Marriott Center floor and spoke to a large gathering of BYU Education Week attendees.
Instead of a stiff lecture, the football legend felt like he was talking in everyone’s living room.
BYU Education Week is an annual program that offers classes designed to strengthen and enrich people’s lives.
#BYU, 49ers legend Steve Young spoke to a large gathering of Education Week attendees.
It was Young’s first appearance at Education Week in 25 years. pic.twitter.com/VCzgwVrwhI
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) August 19, 2024
Young’s topic was “The Healing Power of Loving as God Loves.”
It was Young’s first time at Education Week in 25 years.
In his 51-minute presentation, Young discussed the blessings of striving to be a “spiritual athlete.”
Young then shared a story about the best athlete he ever faced in his decorated football career, which led to him being named a Pro Football Hall of Famer.
The greatest athlete Steve Young faced: Reggie White
The best athlete Steve Young has ever seen was Reggie White, a.k.a. “The Minister of Defense.”
White, who passed away in 2004 at the age of 43, remains one of the greatest defensive linemen in NFL history. He played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, and Carolina Panthers.
During White’s accomplished pro career, he was a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and a Super Bowl XXXI Champion with the Packers.
“Reggie was 6-6. His football card said he was 320 (pounds). If you’re willing to admit you’re 320, you’re 400,” Young said with a smile. “That’s how big he was. When I say he was big, he’s bigger than you can imagine. Was he fast? He was lightning fast. Was he strong? He was strong. And whenever we played him, we always had to think about, ‘How do we block Reggie? Like it’s impossible.’
“‘Let’s put four people on him, and then hopefully he trips over one of them.’
“So whenever we played him, it was like this dread. I’m like, ‘Oh no, oh my gosh!’ So, I would take a snap. Draw back to pass. And when Reggie played, he was loud! He was a screamer, ‘Ahhh!’ So I could hear him. I’d drop back to pass, and I’m looking for Jerry Rice. Then, ‘Ahhhh!’ He’s coming closer. It’s coming closer! I can hear him. Here he is. Oh no! Wham!
“Here was 6-6, 400 pounds right on top of me. And it was all of that.”
Steve Young, Reggie White became friends at a College All-Star Game
Despite the imposing figure that White was to Young on the field, the two were friends. They first met at the Japan Bowl as college seniors when Young was an All-American quarterback at BYU and White was a superstar defensive lineman at the University of Tennessee.
Young’s father, LeGrande “Grit,” who attended Steve’s Education Week presentation, was an attorney who helped Steve and Reggie White find agents as they became pros. So, the friendship continued from there.
40 YEARS AGO TODAY#BYU has been making one-handed catches for years! Here’s a gem in the @KSLSports archive.
On Sep. 17, 1983 Steve Young scored 7 TD’s against Bowling Green but it was this catch by Waymon Hamilton that wowed us! See more tonight on @KSL5TV at 10:45 pic.twitter.com/tuUjzY1xVo— Sam Farnsworth (@Samsworth_TV) September 18, 2023
According to Young, that friendship with White would even manifest on the field when the two competed against each other.
“The miracle of human behavior is that Reggie would have me, and he would engulf me, and I would be this tiny little thing, and he would pick me up and turn on his back and fall with me on top of him, almost to protect me. Then he wouldn’t let go.”
“Steve, how are you doing?”
Young laughs and recreates his pose when he is wrapped up by White, curling up his arms and hands, “This is a true story, I can tell you. I can still picture it. I’m there right now.”
“Steve, how are you doing?”
“Not so good, Reggie.”
“Are your folks here?”
“Not this week, Reggie. Not this week.”
Young continued, “So when we played [against each other], I always felt like maybe he was trying to get to me so we could chat. I was like, ‘Reggie, let’s talk after. You’re making me look bad. This is a terrible situation.'”
Always remained friends
White’s kindness in those competitive games always stood out to Young.
“Reggie showed me he could be in this competitive, incredible, full of adrenaline-space. And yet, in a moment, in a flash of an instant, with all of that adrenaline, with him screaming and yelling to go do his job that he was paid millions of dollars to go do, in a split second, he could transition to be my friend.
“That tells me that we can be spiritual athletes; that is spiritual athleticism.”
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
