Rams outside linebacker Byron Young worked the cash register at Circle K in 2020 to put himself through Georgia Military College (GMC). The problem? Their season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and he was there to pursue a career in professional football.

Young started that part-time job in his sophomore year at GMC, during the pandemic that made it nearly impossible for him to showcase the totality of his skills on the football field. They had no games, coaches couldn't come out to watch him practice and he felt stuck. His mom, Joanne Young, kept her youngest son steadfast.

"She was just like, 'just keep doing what you're doing, eventually, it's going to happen. Someone is watching and the right people will find you,'" Young recalled. "And I remembered that, and then, no lie, a few weeks later, that's when everything started happening and I'm just thankful for her."

Young put together a few highlight tapes from practices and scrimmages on his Twitter (now X) that got some attention, and messaged them to various coaches. Someone at Tennessee responded to his message. They got on the phone and offered him on the spot. After that, the Power Five offers started rolling in, but Young stayed loyal to Tennessee. Even after they went through a coaching change, he wanted to honor the program's commitment to him, because he values devotion.

Young's football journey is unique. As a zero-star recruit coming out of Carvers Bay High School in South Carolina, Young moved to Columbus, Georgia, and got a job at Burger King in 2017. Football wasn't even on his mind. Two years later, he saw an opportunity to walk on at GMC and took it. He hasn't stopped working since, and is now a starting outside linebacker for the Rams. Young's commitment to his craft, large family, mentors and personal identity paved the way for his winding path to the pros.

Young moved in with one of his brothers, Brandon Young, after high school, and Young said he "took me under his wing." Young had seven siblings living in Georgia, so that felt like the right place to go. He picked up a part-time job at Dollar General on top of his shifts at Burger King. He said he was "just trying to survive" and was very diligent with his work, so much so that he was promoted to manager of sales at Dollar General, according to his still-active LinkedIn page, and left Burger King to pursue that opportunity.

"That experience is everything," Young said. "... I feel like it definitely motivated me to be who I am."

Prior to the 2019 season, he saw a flier hanging up at Dollar General promoting a football tryout being held at GMC. Young had just started training again after two years out of football. He knew this was his chance to get back in, so he showed up and "tested well," said then-defensive coordinator Rob Manchester, so they took a chance on his raw talent.

"He was kind of like a big ball of clay and we just molded him," said Manchester, now GMC's head coach.

Young originally wanted to play a traditional linebacker position, but Manchester and then-defensive line coach Reggie Rhodes moved him to defensive end. Rhodes helped him learn basic defensive line techniques and refine his skill set to fit his new position, and Young's natural athleticism provided success.

Young was attending practices, games, military cadet training and classes in his freshman season. Having manned a cash register for years, he was excited to work toward something that he loved, and he came in every day with a desire to improve. Then-head coach Bert Williams told DawgNation that Young would try to sneak onto the field with the scout team for extra reps during practices.

Young had left Dollar General before arriving at GMC, but started at Circle K during his sophomore year, as the season was canceled and junior colleges couldn't give out full scholarships. He never talked about it. He never complained about his circumstances to anyone. In fact, Manchester never even knew he was working there until he stumbled upon him behind the desk one day.

"I stopped through there to get gas (in his sophomore year)," Manchester said. "He'd been practicing, going to class and that was about it. And then, I guess he was picking up hours working at Circle K… and I'm like 'man, what are you doing here?' (And he said) 'I've been working here.'"

Young excelled at GMC despite his abundant responsibilities off the football field.

"Byron was probably one of my greatest kids because I never had any off-the-field problems with him," Rhodes said. "He was a 'yes sir, yes ma'am' type of kid. He had the highest GPA both years I coached him."

Before committing to Tennessee, Rhodes said SEC schools like Georgia, Auburn and Florida were blowing up his phone trying to earn his commitment, but he supported Young's dedication and told them it wasn't his call to influence. As a former walk-on at GMC himself who worked jobs just like Young did to help pay for school, he understood the importance of loyalty – whether it was to family, coaches or programs – and Young has returned that allegiance.

He's given money to his alma maters and ran football camps at his old high school. After a year-and-a-half of being out of contact with Young, Rhodes called him up to see if he'd come back and talk to the players at GMC.

"He was down there maybe a week or two later," Rhodes said.

Now, Young said he goes back home "any chance I get." And as the youngest of 13 siblings, he tries to give back to his family as much as possible. He said that manifests itself in different ways, but "usually, that's not funds," it's just supporting them in the same ways they have always done for him.

Young has immense respect for his siblings, some of whom were good football players themselves. His family pushes him to be at his best. Young said his oldest brother, Isaac Young (49), was "another father" to him, and his mom is, of course, still an inspiration and one of his biggest supporters. They talk every day and she's "always been the same person," just like Young himself.

Yet, he still gets picked on by his siblings (in a loving way, of course). He's still the younger brother, but he likes that dynamic because that's who he's always been, and nothing is going to change that identity.

"I still enjoy (being the youngest)," Young said. "I enjoyed it then, I enjoy it more now because we are all grown up and I get to see them more often. Just being the youngest of 13, it's amazing, being the baby of the family, looking at all my siblings and everything they did for me, it's amazing."

In 2020, when Young was being recruited by a number of SEC schools, spoke with Rhodes about the decision. Tennessee's head coach and nine other staffers had been fired and the program was being sanctioned for recruiting violations. Young "didn't care," Rhodes said. They were the first school to take a chance on him, and despite having dreams of playing at some of the bigger SEC programs that offered him later on, Young stuck with Tennessee.

Luckily for him, one of the country's most respected defensive line coaches showed up at the same time. Rodney Garner was "one of the best coaches" Young ever had, he said. He was extremely hard on him, as Garner is with all his players, but in a productive way.

"(Garner) motivated me, he was always hard on me and that's what I see a lot in my coach down here, (outside linebackers coach) Joe Coniglio," Young said. "They see a lot in me, a lot of potential and a lot that I could do and they just be hard on me because they want the best out of me and I respect that, I like that kind of coaching: Tough love."

Playing at Tennessee was "the hardest I ever had to work," Young said, but Garner prepared him for the league in a way few others could have.

"This kid doesn't have bad habits, he has no (bad) habits," Garner remembered thinking. "... So, man, you know, once he grasps it, he can really take off, because it's important to him."

That's exactly what happened.

Young would "flash" his power and speed during games at Tennessee during his first season, but he was still learning to play the position at the Division I level. Garner said that rushing the passer was "easy for him" because he effortlessly turned speed into power and vice-versa, but Young had a lot of growing to do in the run game. So, he put in the work to improve.

"It's going to be hard, it's gonna be mentally challenging sometimes, mentally draining, and it's just something that I realized and gained from there," Young said. "... I feel like you just stay the course and don't get tired of doing the right thing, don't get tired of what you're supposed to do, and that's kind of what I live by."

Garner, who has coached defensive line in the SEC since 1998, mentored some of the best pass rushers and run stoppers in recent memory. Derrick Brown, Charles Johnson, Justin Houston and Geno Atkins are just some of his most successful students. He drilled fundamentals into all of them, but especially Young.

"I'm trying to help them develop the skills and the tools that it takes for them to be successful at that level," Garner said. "And I'm a fundamentalist, so we spend a lot of time on fundamentals, you know, I don't shortchange that, (I'm) old school… (I focus on) footwork, pad level, hand placement, eyes… unlock your hips, disengage, all those things, just trying to help equip him. So when he gets an opportunity to interview for that job, he has an opportunity to get it."

Young's physical characteristics improved continuously starting with his time at GMC, but his practical skills exploded to another level under Garner's tutelage at Tennessee. Rhodes said his 40-yard dash time was around 4.8 when he ran at their tryout in 2019. By the 2023 NFL Draft Combine, it was 4.43, the fourth-fastest time by a defensive lineman since 2003.

In two seasons at Tennessee, Young improved enough to garner serious attention in the draft, where fate favored the faithful on multiple levels.

Garner's first college job was as a tight ends coach for Auburn from 1990-95, where he bonded with a player named Les Snead… the Rams' general manager. During draft prep, Snead liked Young's tape, so he called up his former coach and current friend.

"Rodney Garner's one of my biggest mentors," Snead said. "I tell people all the time, he basically raised me from knuckle head to… at least closer to a mature young man… I know what it takes to play for Rodney, and when he says 'yeah, thumbs up,' that's going to probably weigh more. It's a bias, but I do think it's probably a good bias that not every team has.'"

Snead knew that if Garner thought highly of Young as a player and a person, then he would fit the Rams' culture. So, ultimately, Young's loyalty to Tennessee, despite seemingly better offers on the table, led to much of his growth as a player, and then to his landing spot with the Rams.

Young isn't just devoted to his family and mentors, but also to himself. Through all the trials and tribulations, Young never lost his identity, and Garner told that to Snead, who still thanks him for the recommendation.

When Young got drafted to Los Angeles, he told Garner he was excited to drive his Chevrolet Malibu, which he drove throughout college, to his new home. Garner just laughed and said "I don't think that's going to play (in Los Angeles)."

"This kid will not change, he's not wired like that," Garner said. "... That's the kind of guy he is, you know, it just says a lot about him."

Young hasn't changed since he was a kid, when his dad would take him and his brothers to the park to shoot hoops. He would tell them that if they made a half-court shot, he would take them to football practice. In reality, Young said that was his way of telling them they were too young to play football, but that didn't stop him from trying.

Young couldn't even reach the hoop at first, but he kept chucking up prayers all the way until third grade, when his father finally relented. That's just who Young is: His dedication to his craft is rivaled only by his loyalty to others who have helped him along the way, and he will always be the younger brother with something to prove.