Life can be turbulent, and for veteran Arizona safety Scottie Young Jr. his college football career has been anything but smooth. There have been suspensions and injuries that have overshadowed the impressive things he has done on the field. All those things taking place meant the junior went through the first spring practice of his career earlier this year.
It proved to be a milestone for the San Diego native, who has worked to mend relationships and prove that he is a different person than the one who had off-the-field issues that led to his suspension from the team last year.
"I was upset, upset with myself," Young said recounting his thoughts when he learned he would not be able to participate in team activities last year. "But, I knew that I put that on myself, so I had to stay level headed, had to stay focused. I always knew that there was going to be a bigger purpose and here we are today."
He's working to reinvent himself and become a better person. As he has done that he has helped stand out on the football field as a leader and someone other players now feel comfortable going to when seeking answers.
"There's a lot of things people don't see about him," fellow veteran safety Tristan Cooper said. "Being so close to him I know a lot of people wouldn't last in his shoes. ... He's just him. He's not worrying about what people got to say about him. He goes out there everyday and he learned from his mistakes and he won't make them again."
It's quite been the turn for Young, who will wear No. 6 this season as part of what he called a "reincarnation" of himself. That is just one of the changes he has made to help himself look forward to what he hopes is a more positive future in life and on the football field.
"I want to continue to be a great leader to my teammate," he said. "Being a brother. Being somebody they can count on, on and off the field. Being a good player for the coaches, somebody they can rely on and just continuing to build and get better."
Part of the rebirth for Young has been proving to his head coach that he is all in. The first thing Kevin Sumlin knew of him when he arrived back in early 2018 was a suspension. Building that trust with the coaching staff has been possible by Young's maturity and growth as a person and player.
"I think Scottie Young has really upped his game," Sumlin said. "He's become a leader. He's communicating. He's a much different player and a much different guy than when I first got here, and I think he is a real leader back there right now. Just how he handles himself, how he talks to the players and how he talks to everybody else.
"I've been really pleased with his progress."
Arizona is coming off a 5-7 season and to get out of that hole and climb back on the positive side of the standings the Wildcats need all hands on deck. Young is one of the team's more experienced players, so getting a rejuvenated version of him back on the field is important for the overall progress of the defense.
UA defensive coordinator Marcel Yates believes that when Young had to leave the team it created a hunger for the game that has helped fuel the fire for his junior safety to make changes and enter a new era in his career.
"Scottie Young loves football," Yates said. "He's the energy to the room. He just loves the game. So, having the game where it wasn't there for him, not being with his teammates, not being with his team, he wasn't able to be coached up. So, I just think for him that was something that he kind of gained from it.
"You don't want it to happen, obviously, but for a kid like that it's a big deal for him. It means something to him."
In 2019 football to Young now means "brotherhood" and being part of that brotherhood means accountability for himself and for others. He realized how much he missed that part of the game during his time away and it has helped him understand what he truly loves about playing college football.
The reminders of Young's past will remain but in football, as in life, it is all about what happens next and how someone responds that will tell the story. For the Arizona safety future is something he feels much better about now after having gone through what he has.
"Being responsible for your own actions," he said when asked what accountability means to him. "Taking responsibility and owning up to everything you do. You can't really live in the past, but you have to learn from it. I think I definitely did that in the past year or two."