It was the fall of 1985 in St. Louis, and Lonnie Young found himself in a position he had previously only dreamed of: The starting lineup for an NFL team.
Sure, he was an All-Star at Beecher High before going to Michigan State, where he was honorable mention All-Big-Ten his senior season. But Young was a 12th round pick of the Cardinals.
Players drafted that low rarely made the team, let alone crack the starting lineup. But that’s just what happened with Young and he couldn’t have felt more prepared.
“One of the biggest highlights for me was starting the first regular-season game as a rookie.” Young recalled of the season-opener against the Cleveland Browns. “Standing out there, I just had this sense of belonging …that this is what I was supposed to do my whole life. It was a very big deal for me.” Young was a big deal for the Cardinals too, making the All-NFL Rookie team on his way to a 12-year career that culminated with a trip to the Super Bowl in 1994 with the San Diego Chargers.
Beecher was where Young got started. He was named All-State in both football and track while adding All-Big Nine Conference honors in basketball as well. His prep career was highlighted, by of all things, a loss. On Oct. 27, 1979, Beecher lost to Grand Blanc 51-50 in one of the most exciting high school football games in area history. Young and future NFL No. 1 pick Carl Banks led the Buccaneers against Steve Smith and the Bobcats. Smith, a high school All-American, went on to star at the University of Michigan.
The struggles of the Beecher district are not lost on Young, whose mother worked in the Beecher schools for years. “It’s really disappointing,” Young said. “It’s unfortunate and I wish things could get better there. But it was a great experience for me, playing with guys like Carl Banks and Courtney Hawkins.” Young went on to play four years at Michigan State, culminating in the Spartans’ 1984 Cherry Bowl appearance. A 10-6 loss to Army was Young’s final game at Michigan State.
“MSU was a great experience for me,” said Young, whose days in East Lansing were highlighted by a 10-7 win over Michigan in 1984. “If I had to do everything again, I would make the same choice and go right back to Michigan State. The coaching staff did a great job of preparing me for football as well as preparing me for life after football. Tyrone Willingham was my position coach my freshman and sophomore years and Nick Saban was my position coach my junior and senior years. I had very solid coaches who’ve made a big impact on my life.”
Young played six seasons with the Cardinals, three in St. Louis and three In Phoenix, before being traded to the New York Jets in 1991. After three seasons in New York, Young played the Super Bowl season in San Diego in 1994 before returning to the Jets for his final two seasons. Young intercepted 11 passes in 147 career games, starting 98 of them. Since retiring after the 1996 season, Young has been involved in several business ventures, including owning Express Personnel Services in Lansing. Now living in New York, Young is an area scout for the Cardinals.
“I’m working my way up the ladder toward becoming a general managers” Young said. “I think it’s vitally important that you learn how to evaluate talent before you can start to build a team.” He still gets together for lunch with Banks, who also lives in the New York area and gets back to Flint as much as he can with both parents living in the area. He and Banks were very active in the Flint community during their playing days, holding an annual football camp as well as helping with a program that allowed youngsters to seek guidance for substance abuse. It’s a pride in his hometown that Young had continued to display no matter where his career has taken him.
“I’ve always been very proud to be from Flint,” Young said.
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