Iowa football: Top 5 running backs in Kirk Ferentz era
By Ryan Sikes
Albert Young was a huge part of the Iowa offense between 2005-2007
The Iowa football team has done a nice job of tapping into the New Jersey area for recruits in the Kirk Ferentz era and plucked Albert Young in the 2004 recruiting class. He was actually a Wisconsin commit but ultimately chose to play for the Hawkeyes.
He made a minimal impact in his freshman season carrying the ball 27 times for 92 yards in just four games. That season, Iowa had a running back by committee system with Sam Brownlee getting the bulk of the carries.
Young exploded onto the scene in 2005 carrying the ball 249 times for 1,334 yards and eight touchdowns. He also was a big threat in the passing game out of the backfield hauling in 24 receptions for 244 yards.
Between 2006 and 2007, Young would carry the ball 384 times for 1,747 yards while hauling in 53 receptions for 437 yards. He will go down as one of the best running backs in Iowa history for being so explosive in the backfield in both rushing and receiving yards.
Young was signed to the Vikings practice squad in 2008 and climbed all the way up to second-string running back. His NFL was short lived but totaled 82 rushing yards on 25 carries.