Executive Assistant to the Head Coach
Donnie.Young@mail.wvu.edu
(304) 293-4194
The senior member of the West Virginia football staff, Donnie Young is well into his third decade as a member of the Mountaineer coaching family. Prior to the 2001 season, he took on the role of administrative assistant for high school and alumni relations for Mountaineer football after seven seasons on the field as linebacker coach.
Young returned to the field before the 1993 season to coach the Mountaineer rush and weak-side linebackers. Perhaps no season was more rewarding to Young than 1996, when his protege Canute Curtis earned consensus All-America honors as a finalist for the Butkus and Bronko Nagurski Awards. During that same season, Young helped the WVU defense earn NCAA rankings of first in the nation in total defense (217.5 ypg), second in rushing defense (61.5 ypg), fourth in scoring defense (12.4 ppg) and fifth in pass efficiency defense (86.8). The Mountaineers committed the fewest turnovers of any team nationally (10); WVU's +1.27 turnover margin was second in the country.
Hall of Fame coach Don Nehlen named Young recruiting coordinator for Mountaineer football in 1980, after he had served 10 years as an assistant coach at WVU under Bobby Bowden and as assistant head coach under Frank Cignetti. Young was previously head coach at Salem College for three years, leading the Tigers to a 19-6-1 record.
His 1969 team posted an 8-1 record and was ranked in the NAIA's Top 20. He was named West Virginia Conference Coach of the Year that season. He was also an assistant coach at Salem for one season prior to assuming the head coaching chair.
The Clendenin, W.Va., native was a standout defensive guard for the Mountaineers, earning three letters and was an all-conference selection. He received the Ira E. Rodgers Award and the Louis D. Meisel Award in 1964.
Young received his bachelor's degree in physical education and biology from WVU in 1965 and his master's degree in physical education and safety from WVU in 1967.
Young, who earned the 1988 Proficiency Award from the Morgantown Touchdown Club, and his wife, Chyleen, have two children -- Tabitha and Chad -- and four grandchildren, Melody, Timmy, Levi and Dawson.
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