51ºÚÁÏ

Man, in an NIL world, Mizzou’s Zion Young could have fun in Columbia, Missouri, with the famous scoop from his scoop-and-score touchdown — ice cream shops to dog waste cleanup to, heck, even the journalism school (“From the football field to the J-school newsrooms, Mizzou students get scoops�).

Indeed, Young penned the end to one of Mizzou’s greatest finishes ever. Last year at home against Oklahoma, the old Big 12 Conference foes were knotted up, 23-23. Just 42 seconds left. OU had possession, when Mizzou’s Triston Newson bulldozed the quarterback, who fumbled the football. On the Mizzou 18-yard line, the defensive end Young scooped up the pigskin and gobbled up green en route to the end zone.

Scoop, there it was.

“It was a surreal moment,� said Young, whose Tigers won, 30-23. “I never scored in college and not defensively in high school.�

OK, but that was last year. What can Mizzou — and Mizzou fans — expect from Zion Young this year? You can’t predict a scoop-and-score, but you can forecast sacks and celebrations from the effervescent senior.

“We apply pressure,� said Young, wearing gear that featured a street sign that said SACK AVE. “Sack Ave., this is just the way we live. This is what we do.�

Young quickly became one of my favorite Tigers to watch on Saturdays — and to interview at Mizzou’s media day — thanks to his energy in both settings.

“He’s really loud, you know?� said fellow defensive end Darris Smith. “If we were to walk down the road and you were far away and couldn’t see any of our faces, you’d still know it was Zion. He’s loud, very excited.

“And when it’s time to work, he’s very locked in. But he’s still going to be the same guy, still going to be loud. If we thought (practice) is getting hard, everybody is bending over, everybody is tired, you’re going to hear Zion: ‘Man, come on!’ He might be tired too, but he’s still going to be loud. Team captain, so everybody looks up to him.�

Young is no longer young. After two seasons at Michigan State, the Atlanta native came to Mizzou and became a factor in 2024 — 2 1/2 sacks, 5 1/2 tackles for a loss, one forced fumble and, of course, one fumble recovery.

“Every day, just being around him is fun,� Tigers defensive coordinator Corey Batoon said. “I mean, he’s got a certain energy about him. A positive guy. And he just practices ultra-hard. So as a coach, you know he’s going to prepare the right way. He loves what he does, and his personality shows that. Those are the guys that are fun to be around. And I think his eagerness and enthusiasm is contagious, right? And it brings other people along. I mean, it’s hard to be around Zion and not have a great day. ...

“And it’s been awesome to see him and his role on this defense continue to develop. So I’m excited about his continued growth. His size and speed ratio. I mean, the guy is big, he’s physical, he’s heavy-handed, he plays with good technique. He’s got a tremendous motor.�

The 6-foot-5, 262-pound chaos creator is the next great end for Mizzou, following the likes of Markus Golden and Shane Ray, Michael Sam and Kony Ealy, Charles Harris and Darius Robinson.

“I feel like over time I’ve improved with my pass rush,� Young said. “I think the big emphasis of my offseason has been my pass rush. You know, the knowledge of my game is extremely changed. Coming to Mizzou, things have slowed down tremendously. (Assistant coach Brian) Early showed me, and showed us, the way to break down film — and what we what we have to process before the play. I feel like I’ve gotten better. I got a little bit explosive in the run, as well. Just (becoming) a more dominant, explosive player.�

Early, the players say, paved the way for Sack Ave. He came up with the concept, which has become, Smith said, “a mindset.� In the defensive meeting room, there is an enormous SACK AVE. street sign on the wall. And the players have hats and shirts and such.

“Sack Ave. is kind of a mentality, you know?� Batoon said. “In regards to creating those havoc plays. And you know, the greatest play in football is a sack-fumble, right?�

Well, the sack-fumble-scoop-and-score is.