‘Give people hope’: Michigan-bound star Jordan Young leads Monroe into football title game

The job isn’t finished for Jordan Young and the Monroe High School football team.

Young, the Michigan-bound safety, has excelled on both sides of the ball throughout his stellar career as a four-year starter for the Redhawks.

Monroe (14-0) is set to play Elizabeth City’s Northeastern for the North Carolina 2A state championship at 6:30 p.m. Saturday from Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill. The Union County program owns one state title, in 2015, and its still-unbeaten squad is led by a strong senior class.

Young is a big part of it, and having a shot at history this weekend feels special.

“A lot of kids from down here feel like they don’t have the opportunities that a lot of other kids do,” Young said. “I’m just trying to set the example that no matter where you’re from, you can do whatever you want to do in life. This school, this county has been through a lot of ups and downs.

“We’re just trying to bring (a championship) back to the county. It’s been a long time coming, since 2015. There have been many good teams to do it, but they’ve always come up short. It’s time to punch it in now.”

Jordan Young has been starting since his freshman year at Monroe

A short-term injury inserted Young into the starting lineup. And he kept that spot.

Johnny Sowell, the Redhawks’ longtime head coach in his 39th season at his alma mater, maintains a close relationship with Young. He feels his two-way star really studies the game; and was never the type of player who allowed his abilities on the field to carry himself.

His first glimpse of that drive came during Young’s freshman year at Monroe, when Shaleak Knotts — the Southern Carolina Conference offensive player of the year in 2021 who now plays in the Big Ten at Maryland — had a bad ankle.

While Knotts didn’t have a lengthy absence from that injury, Young continued to start. Knotts was the experienced starter, and he returned to his posts, but Sowell felt Young had earned a starting job himself.

“When Shaleak got back, it was like, ‘We’ve gotta keep this guy on the field,’” Sowell said. “That’s why he became a four-year starter: Somebody getting hurt, giving him an opportunity, and he took the best of it.”

Strong chemistry with his Monroe teammates before state title game

Kaegan Chambers transferred to Monroe from Chesterfield, S.C., before his junior year.

Chambers, the Redhawks’ standout dual-threat quarterback, recalls the sting that the team felt after coming up short in a 29-28 loss early in the state tournament last season. While he’s only been at Monroe for a couple of seasons, he understands the importance of winning the championship for its seniors and underclassmen.

His relationship with Young accelerated that.

Young, now his leading wide receiver, made an effort to get to know Chambers early in his time at Monroe. The duo’s strong chemistry has strengthened their connection on the field.

“That’s my boy,” Chambers said. “Ever since I got here, he just took me in with open arms and let me know that I was his friend. I wasn’t here alone or nothing — but that’s off the field. On the field, he’s a great player, he’s a team player, he’s humble and he just does the right things.”

Now bound for Michigan, he looks to put Monroe on the map

Sowell goes over tape with Young every day during lunch.

The longtime Monroe head coach had given Young advice in determining his college decision: To make a pros and cons chart. That’s exactly what Young did, and the most ‘pros’ for him seemed to be in Ann Arbor.

Sherrone Moore and defensive backs coach LaMar Morgan call Young every other night. It’s reached the point where most of their talks end up being about what he ate for dinner that evening and how practice was — just regular conversations.

“Their safeties coach came from a lower Division I program and put many guys in the league,” Young said. “He took guys who didn’t even play football before and put them in the league. Just imagine what he can do with four-, five-star caliber players.

“I’m familiar with the guys, the recruits there. Football factory. One of the biggest weight rooms, that’s one of the major things that I look at. Just getting bigger and faster so I can be able to play earlier.”

But first, his Monroe Redhawks have a state championship to chase. And even at Michigan, the opportunity to represent his Union County hometown on a national level is what’s exciting for Young.

“I know my little brothers look up to me,” Young said. “They all come up to me asking for pictures and autographs and stuff. Being a selfless person, just knowing what I’m doing, is not just a reflection of me.

“It’s a reflection of everybody else, because a lot of people look up to me and what I do, and I just give people hope.”