Walter Young (football player)

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Walter Young
Date of birth	December 7, 1979
Place of birth	Chicago Heights, Illinois
Position(s)	Wide receiver
College	University of Illinois
NFL Draft	2003 / Round 7
Statistics	Pro Football Reference
Team(s)
2003 2004-05	Carolina Panthers Pittsburgh Steelers

For the Major League Baseball player with the same name, see Walter Young (baseball player).

Walter Lee Young, Jr. (born December 7, 1979 in Chicago Heights, Illinois) is an American football wide receiver currently on the practice squad of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was originally a seventh round pick (226th overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft out of the University of Illinois by the Carolina Panthers.

Originally a quarterback, Young switched to wide receiver as a redshirt sophomore at Illinois in 2000. Starting seven games that year for the Fighting Illini, Young finished the season with 27 receptions for 403 yards. As a junior, Young started 11 games and finished second on the team with 50 catches for 890 yards and eight touchdowns, while averaging a team-leading 17.8 yards per catch. In his senior year of 2002, Young started 12 games and again ranked second on the team with 56 catches for 822 yards and six touchdowns. Young finished his college career ranking third on the Illini all-time list with 2,382 receiving yards and 15 touchdown receptions, and sixth with 147 receptions.

As a college player at Illinois, Young also played on the Fighting Illini basketball team. As a junior (2001-02), Young played in two games for the basketball team, and scored two points in a game against Wisconsin. Young became the first Fighting Illini athlete since 1973 to appear in games for both the football and basketball teams in the same season.

In 2006, Young played for the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europe. Young finished the regular season as the team's second-leading receiver, with 31 receptions for 370 yards and 3 touchdowns in 10 games.

Young played quarterback at Rich East High School in Park Forest, Illinois, where he earned all-state honors.