November 2013 South Carolina Living Magazine Vol. 1 | Page 20

Mr. Football 1996 • Kyle Young, Offensive Lineman • Daniel High School

The Scholar Athlete
It is one of the great ironies in football: the game’s largest,
strongest players are often the most overlooked. Offensive
linemen are the semi-anonymous players who toil in
the trenches without much notice. It is one reason the
announcement of the second-ever Mr. Football award
surprised everyone in the room. Even the winner.

“When they called my name it was definitely a shock,”
recalls Kyle Young, who played at Daniel High School.
“I remember thinking it was an honor just to be invited.
Linemen don’t usually get that kind of attention.”

Two of many highlights during
65 years of North-South rivalry
1971: “The best there was.” It was

Sum ter Item

the year of integration for many of the state’s public
high schools. In Sumter, that gave Freddie Solomon
the opportunity to take the helm of the Sumter
Gamecocks. As quarterback, Solomon shined as an
electrifying runner and dangerous passer. He was such
a phenomenal talent that a sportswriter once wrote
Solomon “was faster than anything that didn’t burn
fuel.” Named the MVP of the 1971 all-star game, Solomon had an
outstanding professional career, helping the San Francisco 49ers
win the Super Bowl in 1982.

1993: “A clash of the Titans.” Leading the

North team that year was Woodruff head coach Willie Varner.
A gruff man straight from the old school, Varner captured an
unheard of 10 state titles in his time. The South’s head coach was
John McKissick of Summerville High School. No slouch, McKissick
had six state titles of his own, stamping Summerville as the
Lowcountry’s powerhouse program. The 1993 all-star game was
the one time these two coaching legends ever squared off against
each other, and on a dreary winter day in Myrtle Beach marked by
sleet and snow flurries, Varner’s North team beat the South 31-8.
“I guess when you’re playing friends, someone you respect like
John McKissick, you feel a little apprehensive when you win big
like that,” Varner told The State newspaper that day. “Friends are
more important than winning.”
At the age of 87, McKissick continues to coach Summerville.
He’s in his 62nd year as head coach and has won more than
600 games, a national record.

IPTAY Media

‘I remember thinking it was
an honor just to be invited.
Linemen don’t usually get
that kind of attention.’

Kyle Young (right) earned the Mr. Football title in 1996 and went on to be
an outstanding student and offensive lineman at Clemson University.
Today he is an associate athletic director at his alma mater.

Young descended from a football family that bled
Clemson orange. Young’s grandfather, Ed McLendon,
played for Clemson’s 1939 Cotton Bowl team. His brother,
Will Young, lettered in football for Clemson from 1992 to
1995. He even married into a football family: his father-inlaw lettered in football at Clemson in the late ’60s. To no
one’s surprise, Kyle followed in his family’s footsteps and
played college football for the Tigers.
“It was great for me,” says Young, who grew up just
a few miles away from Memorial Stadium. “Everything
I have I owe to Clemson.”
Young entered the Tigers’ starting lineup in 1998 and
became a frontline fixture there for the next four seasons.
Sure, Young was big, strong and agile. He was also smart.
“Like having a second coach on the field,” according to
Clemson coach Tommy Bowden. Young was a powerful force
on the football field and just as strong in the classroom.
“I was taught to make the most of everything I do,” says
Young, who graduated summa cum laude with a degree
in secondary education. He is the only athlete in school
history to be named a first-team Academic All-American
three times.
“The only thing I regret is not winning a championship
of some kind,” says Young, who played in three bowl games.
After graduating as one of Clemson’s most decorated
athletes, Young stayed connected to his alma mater and
hometown by taking a job in the Tigers’ athletic department. Today, he is the associate athletic director who
oversees the school’s Olympic sports programs.
Being named Mr. Football was the first of many awards
that eventually came Young’s way. It remains one of his
most cherished accomplishments.
“When you look at that list [of Mr. Football winners] and
see some of the guys that followed me,” he says, “it’s really
humbling.”

Web Extra Visit SCLiving.coop to learn about three former
MVPs who have turned their talents to coaching.

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