Falcons' Young Blossoms Into a Dual Threat

A starter on the Good Counsel basketball team since his freshman year, Louis Young spent the summer of 2006 on the travel-team circuit, honing his skills as a point guard in gyms across the country. This summer, Young traded his high-tops for cleats, dedicating himself to improving as a football player after starting at cornerback last season as a sophomore.

"This year he wants to play offense," Good Counsel Coach Bob Milloy said with a smile. "So he came to the summer stuff."

Young learned the routes run by the team's wide receivers. He hit the weight room, hoping to help set an example for the team's younger players. And when the third-ranked Falcons open their season tonight at D.C. public school defending champion Dunbar, Young will start on both sides of the ball.

On a team loaded with talented players -- led by All-Met linebacker Jelani Jenkins, considered one of the nation's best at his position -- it is easy to lose track of Young. Maryland recruit Caleb Porzel is one of the Washington area's fastest running backs and the team's other starting cornerback, Mike Wallace, also has a handful of college scholarship offers.

Increasingly, though, many of those college recruiters are paying attention to Young, whose stock shot up after he stood out at a one-day camp at Maryland this summer.

"Evidently he threw some people around," Milloy said. "They offered him that night."

Virginia Tech, Boston College and Stanford soon followed suit. Clemson and Maryland had been recruiting him to play basketball, Young said, but attention from the football scouts "has picked up recently."

Young said he enjoys both sports. Playing football helps him stay aggressive on the basketball court, he said, while playing basketball improves his footwork at cornerback. And getting in top shape physically will help in both sports. Young said he has added more than 20 pounds to his 6-foot-1 frame since last season by working out more and changing his diet to limit red meat and increase protein consumption.

"I'm a peanut butter-and-jelly fanatic," he said. "I eat those all day."

Combine four PB-and-J's with a salad that includes turkey, cheese, croutons and ranch dressing and you've got quite a lunch. It's easy to see how Young is up to 190 pounds, while retaining the speed and quickness colleges and Milloy love.

"I'm open to every college right now," Young said. "It really hasn't sunk in to me, with all the attention from the colleges. I'll deal with it after the season."

No. 3 Good Counsel at Dunbar Tonight, 7