Young’s Journey Began Far From Athens
September 11, 2025 | Football, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Sometimes, when you're chasing your dreams, the path leads to unexpected places, like Lackawanna College. That's where Georgia senior wide receiver Colbie Young's college journey began, in Scranton, Pa., a place perhaps best known for being the setting of "The Office" television show.
Young didn't go to Scranton to work at Dunder-Mifflin, however. He went there to play football for the Falcons.
"Coming off a gap year and starting off there, I was like, I don't know what I'm doing here right now. I don't even know if this is going to play out the way I wanted it to," Young said this week, ahead of the No. 6-ranked Bulldogs' SEC opener at No. 15 Tennessee on Saturday in Knoxville.
A big target at 6-foot-4, Young was Class AA All-State in 2019, and had 14 touchdowns in his final season at Binghamton (N.Y.) High School. But he didn't go straight to college. Instead, he took a gap year to try to get better and improve his playing options after his recruitment was disrupted by the pandemic.
"I had a brother in college, and he ended up sitting out that year because of COVID, so I ended up just training with him a lot, and just trying to get better every day," Young said.
Young said he had some interest from FCS programs coming out of high school, but because of the extra year the NCAA granted student-athletes affected by the pandemic, there were fewer scholarships available. Ultimately, he opted instead to go the junior college route, which is how he ended up at Lackawanna College. He had 24 catches for 472 yards and nine touchdowns for the Falcons in 2021, which attracted the interest of some major schools.
"I got one offer, and then the offers started rolling in," he said. "And then it was like a surreal moment, because this is what I wanted all my life."
From Lackawanna, Young signed with Miami (Fla.), and in 22 games for the Hurricanes, he caught 79 passes for 930 yards and 10 touchdowns. To go from Binghamton and Scranton to Miami was a big change in a lot of different ways, from the difference in resources available to student-athletes to the weather. He went from being around tons of snow to the endless sun and heat of South Florida.
"I actually like the heat," he said. "That's why I went down to Miami. I'd rather be warm than cold."
After transferring to Georgia, Young caught 11 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns in the first five games last season, with three catches against both Alabama and Auburn. He was suspended for the rest of the season following an off-field incident and was later reinstated by head coach Kirby Smart. Young has entered this season determined to make the most of it.
"I just felt extremely blessed getting another opportunity to be with my guys. ... They welcomed me back with open arms and everything — no judgement, no anything. I love the guys for that, and that's why every day I go out and ball as much as I can."
Smart said he sees a very motivated player in Young this season.
"I think he knows what he's fighting for and what he's playing for," Smart said. "He's got a lot of good intentions in terms of what he wants to get out of the season, and that's shown up in his special teams play. It's shown up in his work ethic, in his demeanor, his fire, passion, energy, and just the way he plays the game.
"He's a leader out there, and he wants it really bad. And that kind of rubs off on the rest of the offense in terms of his physicality and his catch radius. The players love being around him. He's got a lot of energy."
Young was a serious basketball player for many years, so much so that "if you asked my family 10 years ago, they're thinking I'd be playing basketball right now" instead of football, he said. All that time on the hardwood has helped him be a better receiver.
"Timing your jumps is one of the biggest things," he said. "Tracking the flight of the ball and jumping off, like what foot you're going to jump off, and when. The other thing is just conditioning. In basketball, you have to be in amazing shape, keeping your heart rate up and going back and forth."
Along with the return of Young, Georgia brought in transfer receivers Zachariah Branch from USC and Noah Thomas from Texas A&M to add some depth and explosiveness to the passing game. Young has a team-high nine catches for 106 yards, Branch has six for 112, including a 47-yard touchdown on a screen pass, and Thomas has three receptions for 24 yards.
Staff Writer
Sometimes, when you're chasing your dreams, the path leads to unexpected places, like Lackawanna College. That's where Georgia senior wide receiver Colbie Young's college journey began, in Scranton, Pa., a place perhaps best known for being the setting of "The Office" television show.
Young didn't go to Scranton to work at Dunder-Mifflin, however. He went there to play football for the Falcons.
"Coming off a gap year and starting off there, I was like, I don't know what I'm doing here right now. I don't even know if this is going to play out the way I wanted it to," Young said this week, ahead of the No. 6-ranked Bulldogs' SEC opener at No. 15 Tennessee on Saturday in Knoxville.
A big target at 6-foot-4, Young was Class AA All-State in 2019, and had 14 touchdowns in his final season at Binghamton (N.Y.) High School. But he didn't go straight to college. Instead, he took a gap year to try to get better and improve his playing options after his recruitment was disrupted by the pandemic.
"I had a brother in college, and he ended up sitting out that year because of COVID, so I ended up just training with him a lot, and just trying to get better every day," Young said.
Young said he had some interest from FCS programs coming out of high school, but because of the extra year the NCAA granted student-athletes affected by the pandemic, there were fewer scholarships available. Ultimately, he opted instead to go the junior college route, which is how he ended up at Lackawanna College. He had 24 catches for 472 yards and nine touchdowns for the Falcons in 2021, which attracted the interest of some major schools.
"I got one offer, and then the offers started rolling in," he said. "And then it was like a surreal moment, because this is what I wanted all my life."
From Lackawanna, Young signed with Miami (Fla.), and in 22 games for the Hurricanes, he caught 79 passes for 930 yards and 10 touchdowns. To go from Binghamton and Scranton to Miami was a big change in a lot of different ways, from the difference in resources available to student-athletes to the weather. He went from being around tons of snow to the endless sun and heat of South Florida.
"I actually like the heat," he said. "That's why I went down to Miami. I'd rather be warm than cold."
After transferring to Georgia, Young caught 11 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns in the first five games last season, with three catches against both Alabama and Auburn. He was suspended for the rest of the season following an off-field incident and was later reinstated by head coach Kirby Smart. Young has entered this season determined to make the most of it.
"I just felt extremely blessed getting another opportunity to be with my guys. ... They welcomed me back with open arms and everything — no judgement, no anything. I love the guys for that, and that's why every day I go out and ball as much as I can."
Smart said he sees a very motivated player in Young this season.
"I think he knows what he's fighting for and what he's playing for," Smart said. "He's got a lot of good intentions in terms of what he wants to get out of the season, and that's shown up in his special teams play. It's shown up in his work ethic, in his demeanor, his fire, passion, energy, and just the way he plays the game.
"He's a leader out there, and he wants it really bad. And that kind of rubs off on the rest of the offense in terms of his physicality and his catch radius. The players love being around him. He's got a lot of energy."
Young was a serious basketball player for many years, so much so that "if you asked my family 10 years ago, they're thinking I'd be playing basketball right now" instead of football, he said. All that time on the hardwood has helped him be a better receiver.
"Timing your jumps is one of the biggest things," he said. "Tracking the flight of the ball and jumping off, like what foot you're going to jump off, and when. The other thing is just conditioning. In basketball, you have to be in amazing shape, keeping your heart rate up and going back and forth."
Along with the return of Young, Georgia brought in transfer receivers Zachariah Branch from USC and Noah Thomas from Texas A&M to add some depth and explosiveness to the passing game. Young has a team-high nine catches for 106 yards, Branch has six for 112, including a 47-yard touchdown on a screen pass, and Thomas has three receptions for 24 yards.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
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