Cal Spring Football Wrap-Up: WR Monroe Young Impresses

When Cal recruited Monroe Young in the latter part of the 2018 cycle, he was an unknown to many. Not to the Cal staff, who saw an athlete (7th best Nike Sparq rating from the Oakland Opening regional) in an area that doesn't get much attention. With an offer and a visit, Young, the son of former NFL linebacker Fredd Young, committed and signed to Berkeley.

It's about 14 months after his offer and commitment. Young, slated as an athlete originally, has taken to the wide receiver position. It's a relatively new position for him though.

"I’m a lot more comfortable, my first year at receiver was senior year (of high school)," Young said, "and that year of growth I had coming in here (last year), I feel the improvement right off the bat."

It couldn't come at a better time for the Bears, who needed wide receivers to step up in a big way this spring. Help will be on the way in the fall, with junior college transfers Trevon Clark and Kekoa Crawford coming in, but Young's development this spring impressed Justin Wilcox.

"With Monroe (this spring), it was contested catches," Wilcox noted, "and blocking, he was wearing guys out blocking, which was awesome."

Young appears to be ahead of schedule, despite an upper body injury that sidelined him during fall camp last year. Where his growth is most apparent is in his cutting. Early in camp, he had a double move on play action when he got wide open against the 1st team defense, reeling in an easy deep ball from Chase Garbers for a 60 yard score. His technical work on cuts and releases to free him up in one on one drills is apparent.

"He’s a very strong receiver. He’s very creative," wide receivers coach Burl Toler noted, "he wanted to work on his releases, his routes, using a lot of creativity with that. Seeing him translate what he says in the meeting room to the field, he’s being a catalyst and a leader in drills, and it carries over to the team competition things as well."

Young noted that he worked with Chase Garbers and the other QBs during the offseason, getting timing down on the comebacks, out routes, and back shoulder throws he had success with this spring. Footwork was the main point of emphasis for the 6', 200 lb receiver.

"Mostly my footwork," Young said about what he worked on before spring ball, "I came out here and did a little bit of footwork on my own, and I can see the improvement."

What's next for Young is offseason weight training and more competition in the fall. With Clark and Crawford coming in, along with the competitors already on the team like Ben Skinner, Ricky Walker, Jordan Duncan, and Makai Polk.

Young does have the athleticism factor going for him. As a high schooler, he caught Wilcox's attention with his athleticism on the basketball court, showing the ability to dunk. Wilcox also noted his strength as a pass catcher, with strong hands in traffic. With the receiver room needing contributors, this is the perfect time to cement himself as one. His blocking ability will also give him time on special teams. Either way, he'll see plenty of time on the field in 2019