| No. 34 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Running back | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1953-12-07)December 7, 1953 (age 72) Mobile, Alabama, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 196 lb (89 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Vigor (Prichard, Alabama) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Jackson State | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1975: 7th round, 164th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Rickey Darnell Young (born December 7, 1953) is an American former professionalfootball player who was arunning back for nine seasons in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theJackson State Tigers.
Young playedcollege football atJackson State University and was a teammate ofWalter Payton, his nephew, andRobert Brazile, his cousin.
Young was selected in the seventh round of the1975 NFL draft with the 164th overall pick by theSan Diego Chargers. After playing three years for the Chargers (1975–1977) he was traded to theMinnesota Vikings for All-Pro guardEd White. In his first season with the Vikings (1978) he led the NFL with 88 receptions, breakingChuck Foreman's record for receptions by a running back in a season.[1] 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)[2] 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.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| 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 | ||
| 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 | ||
Young has two children: Micah, born in 1985 and Colby born in 1988.
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