Wyatt Young won’t be walking into unfamiliar territory Saturday. He just hasn’t done it in a Cowboys uniform yet.
The OSU receiver grew up in the Houston area, where his high school stadium at Katy Tompkins was only about an hour from TDECU Stadium. But despite being that close, he never actually played there. What was supposed to be a high school playoff game at TDECU got shifted to Rice’s stadium instead.
Now he finally gets his turn.
“It’ll be awesome,” Young said. “I think I have around 40 people coming to this game, so it’s exciting.”
There’s a lot more than family and friends making this one feel personal for Young. He also comes into the matchup as one of the Cowboys’ most productive players, leading the team with 462 receiving yards and 27 catches.
And if you’ve watched him this season, you’ve probably seen the edge that comes with those plays. Young doesn’t exactly tiptoe back to the huddle after a big grab.
That intensity was a major talking point during OSU’s media availability on Tuesday. Young said the energy isn’t something he picked up when he moved from quarterback to receiver. It’s always been there.
“Really just encouraging them after I make a good play on them,” Young said. “That’s the best I got.”
Coach Eric Morris knows the type. As a former Big 12 slot receiver, he said he’s seen that kind of personality before and understands why it can work.
“I was the same way as a player,” Morris said. “I remember having to be reined in at times.
We’ve definitely had some conversations. Obviously, you don’t want to take that passion that he plays with.
I think our team feeds off of it. At the same time, he’s got to be smart and never hurt this team by getting a penalty at some point, right?
And so yeah, I’ve always thought it’s better to have to pull them back a little bit as opposed to push him.
“If you have a little dog, you know, you want him to bite in this sport. But he just has to be smart and realize that you know he never needs to put us in a position where it hurts his team.”
So far, Young says that hasn’t been an issue. He said he hasn’t drawn a penalty for the way he carries himself.
And the fire doesn’t stay contained to just him. OSU starting right tackle Lepo said it spreads through the offense.
“I see him out there, I’m talking to the guys, too,” Lepo said. “I think you kind of need that from everyone, especially on the O-line, just being a chippy player.
It’s gritty. Seeing other guys do that, it’s great.
I love seeing that stuff.”
The matchup itself gives Young another chance to make noise, and he isn’t hiding what he wants from it. He said he’s looking for a statement win in Houston, one that would help the Cowboys earn more respect.
“Finally allowing us to hopefully make a statement win,” Young said. “Go out there and compete with the best and hopefully whoop up on the best.
Just being able to go out there and show that we are a legit team and finally people will start taking us seriously hopefully. …
“Our motto is misfits. We’ve all been kind of disrespected our whole career, under-recruited or just people don’t think we’re as good as we are. But I think getting a major win under our belt like this, finally people can start putting us higher in the rankings and whatever.”
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