Washington defensive end Chase Young is expected to continue growing as a football player now that he’s in the professional ranks and Young thinks he may have some growing to do on another front as well.
Young’s father grew from 6'7" as a sophomore in college to 6'10" by the time he left school, so late growth spurts aren’t unusual in his family. During a conference call on Monday, Young said that he may be measuring in at 6'5" at some point in the future.
“It’s a possibility I could grow late,” Young said, via John Keim of ESPN.com. “A lot of people told me my growth plates, there’s still some room. It won’t affect my game. It’s something I’ll adapt to, staying flexible. If you’re tall, you’ve got to be a lot more flexible. I’ll be the same person whether I’m 6-7 or 6-1. Everything’s cool.”
If he does get taller, Young might wind up looking similar to Julius Peppers. Young said he “always just grew up watching” the former North Carolina basketball player/star NFL pass rusher and Peppers’ one-time coach Ron Rivera will be thrilled if the team’s second overall pick has other similarities to the second overall pick of the 2002 draft.