Seahawks NT Cameron Young Impresses Early at OTAs: 'Unselfish, Physical, Rugged'

Stepping into the lineup replacing a popular veteran at an important position up front, Cameron Young has jumped right into the fray for the Seattle Seahawks, drawing praise from defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt for his skills, mindset, and maturity.

RENTON, Wash. - While he isn't entering the NFL with the same ballyhoo as first-round picks Devon Witherspoon or Jaxon Smith-Njigba, no incoming rookie on the Seattle Seahawks may have more weight on his shoulders than defensive tackle Cameron Young.

Charged with filling the massive shoes of departed veteran Al Woods, who the team released as a cap casualty back in March, Young has the inside track to start at nose tackle for the Seahawks right away. With Bryan Mone currently recovering from reconstructive knee surgery and likely to miss an extended chunk of the 2023 season and no other experienced nose tackles on the roster, the job remains his to lose over the next couple of months, which can apply a ton of pressure on any first-year player.

So far, however, while real evaluations will begin in August when the pads come out during training camp, Seahawks defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt has been impressed by what he has seen from Young in the early going of his first offseason program. Away from being a massive man at 319 pounds with 34.5-inch arms who looks the part, the rookie has impressed with his football mind adjusting to his new team.

"The measurable stuff is obviously impressive. He’s a large man with long arms, big hands, is strong, and is physical at the point of contact," Hurtt told reporters after Thursday's OTA session. "But he’s a guy that has good football awareness, ideas, and feels of things going on. In terms of transitioning into a different scheme and how you are going to play him, he has all of that stuff and you just have to continue to develop and train him to get him up to speed on things. He has done a nice job so far."

Though nose tackle won't be mistaken as a glorified or sexy position, the role holds great importance in Seattle's hybrid 3-4 defensive scheme, particularly in the run game. And, after finishing a dreadful 30th overall in rushing defense last season and allowing opponents to run roughshod on them all year, opening a new season with question marks and uncertainty in the middle of the defensive line wouldn't be ideal.

But Hurtt and the Seahawks have shown the utmost confidence in Young, who made a strong impression on coaches during a pre-draft visit at the NFL combine, believing he will be more than ready to make an immediate impact in the pros after a stellar collegiate career at Mississippi State.

Stout at the point of attack with heavy hands and a powerful anchor, Young can be difficult to move off the line of scrimmage, a pivotal characteristic for an NFL nose tackle. The ability to clog up space against single blocks as well as double teams helps keep linebackers such as Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks clean at the second level to come up and make plays against the run.

Capable of being a disruptive force on his own as well, Young produced 22 solo tackles last season in the middle and received at least a 69.0 run defense grade three consecutive seasons from Pro Football Focus, consistently performing well stopping ball carriers. While rushing the passer wasn't his forte for the Bulldogs, he did gradually improve in that area, jumping from 16 pressures in 2021 to 18 last year.

Coming to the Pacific Northwest with proven SEC pedigree as a multi-year starter in the toughest conference in college football, Hurtt obviously loves what he saw on film evaluating the prospect and what he will bring to Seattle's defense on the field. But he also lauded him for his maturity, citing his work ethic and understanding of the time and effort that must be put in away from practice to keep his body and mind firing on all cylinders.

“He’s really quiet, he puts in the time and takes care of his body. For a young kid, that’s impressive because a lot of those guys don’t get that early," Hurtt said.

Already seeing the bulk of reps with the first-team defense during OTAs with Mone on the sidelines and Woods now in New York, Young quietly has gotten to work sharpening his craft and looks poised to take on a starting role early in his NFL career. Rolling the dice on a rookie filling the void at a decisive position that carries far more significance than advertised carries risk, but the Seahawks will be banking on him bolstering their run defense right away.

Coming from a slant-heavy defense in college that had him constantly on the move up front and playing multiple alignments, Young's adjustment to Seattle's scheme as a traditional nose tackle who regularly covers the center and A-gaps should be better suited for his strengths. While the team will miss Woods and his quiet leadership, Hurtt thinks the rookie checks off all the boxes to be successful as his heir apparent in the trenches and that the defense won't miss a beat with him in the lineup.

"He’s a guy that is unselfish, physical, rugged, and plays a position that doesn’t get a lot of fanfare," Hurtt said. "We’ve had guys obviously like Al Woods and [Bryan] Mone that have played that position in the past where they eat a lot of double teams, but they help guys like Bobby [Wagner] and Jordyn [Brooks] make a lot of tackles and be really productive. He can continue to do those things for us.”

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