Palm Beach Gardens tackle Avery Young chooses Auburn, where he'll join Dwyer's Patrick Miller

Wednesday, February 01, 2012
by Jeff Greer

Avery Young puts on an Auburn hat after announcing where he’ll play college football next season. (Photo by Allen Eyestone / The Palm Beach Post)

For the past 48 hours, prized Palm Beach Gardens offensive tackle Avery Young kept one of college football's biggest secrets under wraps.

For months and even years, the 6-foot-6, 290-pound Young (and rabid football fans) agonized over his college choice, debating the merits of Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia and Miami, among many others.

On Wednesday, in front a crowded Gardens High auditorium, Young looked relieved as he tugged on an Auburn hat and told ESPN's national audience that he was "gonna go War Eagle, baby."

And that was how the most followed recruiting story in Palm Beach County ended, with the other suitors left behind and Auburn fans unleashing their support on social media sites.

"I couldn't find anything bad about them," said Young, who mentioned Florida as his runner-up.

Young said he informed Auburn coaches of his imminent signing "within the last 48 hours," keeping the secret until 2 p.m. Wednesday on national signing day.

He didn't even tell his mother.

"Oh, man, knowing that I couldn't tell my mom before anybody else, I promised myself I wouldn't tell anyone," Young said.

Young's recruitment took an interesting turn over the past few weeks. After convincing Young to make an official visit, Miami put on the full-court press, with its coaches meeting him for dinner in Riviera Beach last week.

Because he'd been so good at shielding his selection process from the media, Young's quietness was misinterpreted as indecisiveness, prompting some speculation that Miami had a chance at a late coup.

"I got into the process with them a little too late," Young said. "They didn't really compare to the other schools."

Young highlighted the special recruiting work of Park Vista alum Tre Mason, a second-semester freshman who saw the field at Auburn as the team's kick returner and third running back.

An avid fisherman, Young talked about his stirring visit to Auburn this fall, when he learned that saltwater fishing options were only two hours away and freshwater fishing was around the corner.

Above all, it was the chance to work with offensive line coach Jeff Grimes, who also convinced Dwyer tackle Patrick Miller to join Auburn. Miller enrolled early at Auburn after LSU told him there wasn't any space in Baton Rouge this winter.

"I connected with (Grimes) real good," said Young, whose older brother Willie Young Jr. is a defensive end for the Detroit Lions. "The whole team atmosphere there, it's great."

When Young finally announced his decision Wednesday, the crowd remained quiet. It wasn't because the decision was a shock - Young picking Auburn was a popular prediction among recruitniks - it had more to do with the ending of an agonizingly long process.

But when he put on the Auburn hat, he smiled, and his family quietly nodded its approval as he signed the letter of intent.

His secret was finally out.

"I couldn't breathe - I thought I was going to have an asthma attack up there," Young said. "I have no regrets about it."