Steve Young opens up about a former coach, Jerry Rice, his folks and others he admires

Even though they were both born on Oct. 11, Steve Young concedes the day to the late LaVell Edwards. Whether that’s an act of nobility by Young or just a form of denial, two things are certain — he is a year older, and his personality is growing closer to his former Hall of Fame head coach every day.
Like Edwards, the Super Bowl MVP knows everybody, but he is not a name-dropper. He lives his life on his own merits. Athletically, Young’s display in the Pro Football Hall of Fame speaks for itself. Off the field, he’s a family man, a church guy and an entrepreneur who has amassed a fortune, and when given the opportunity to throw another pass, he never turns it down.
For most of his championship career, Young has fielded questions about himself. He’s grown comfortable with it, but if you really want to see a twinkle in his eye, as with Edwards, just ask him to talk about someone else.
During this week’s “Y’s Guys” livestream/podcast, and without any forewarning, Young was pitched a few names to opine about. Not surprisingly, the former Greenwich High School baseball star hit it out of the park.
“He changed my life. I was a defensive back with Tom Holmoe in winter practices. I threw up in my mouth every day. I hate defense. I hate defense. I had figured out how to throw, but I couldn’t do it because (Doug Scovil) wouldn’t coach a lefty. Ted Tollner showed up and asked, ‘Why aren’t you playing quarterback?’
“‘Cuz, I’m a lefty,’ I shot back.
“‘Well,’ he said, ‘that’s stupid!’
“‘I agree!’
“He went in and asked LaVell to let him have two weeks of spring ball (with me). I was throwing it all over the field and the rest is history. Ted Tollner changed my life forever. I hug him every time I see him. Anyone who is related to him, I hug them too. I love that guy.”
“I love Taysom as a human, as a teammate and as a player. I wish he was given the opportunity to just play quarterback, but you know what, if he’s known as the most versatile athlete that ever played in the NFL, I think that would be cool, too.”
“A leader for all leaders. That dude is like, ‘Follow me!’ Right now, they are in a little bit of a jam, but Fred has that steely look of ‘Just follow me.’ What an amazing player. He might join me in the Hall of Fame, which would be amazing.”
“The day after the Super Bowl, I went to the facility to clean out my locker. I go out onto the field to reminisce on a great season and in the back corner, there was a guy running (pass) routes by himself. I’m like, ‘Who is that? Oh my gosh, it’s Jerry!’ There are two things I thought — first, that is frickin’ amazing that Jerry Rice is down here with no one around and running routes the day after the Super Bowl. The second thing I thought was, ‘Am I supposed to go out and throw to him? I don’t really want too.’ I was still sore from the game.”
“(He’s) changing the game. Flipping the script. He has come in and wiped out 50 years of angst and frustration over how do we compete on the biggest stage. He’s like, ‘Let me show you. Here is how you recruit. Here is how we get the money to pay the guys. Here is how we get the coaches.’ We are getting set up to go win a national championship and recruit off of it and speak to it. That’s flipping the script. We will all be (the) beneficiaries of it. Kalani (Sitake) is going to be a beneficiary of this. All of us are going to be beneficiaries of what he’s done.”
“My dad always told me I had to have a dream and a plan. My dream was to play professional football and play quarterback. My plan was to go to law school and become a lawyer. Recently, I saw him and asked him, ‘What’s (his) dream?’ He said, (live to) 110. I said, ‘OK.’ And I think President Nelson (100) might get there (too). He’s kind of a gritty guy and there is a spirit about him that is born out of longevity, like he’s built for the distance, and I appreciate that very much. I bet if I asked him what his dream is, he’d be like, ‘115 — maybe.’”
“My mom is a peacemaker. I have a peaceful home because I learned how to do that (from) my mom. My dad’s nickname is ‘Grit’ and he is every inch of it. I’ve tried to quit a lot in my life, and I could never pull it off because of my dad. I just got him a new truck. He’s super happy.”
“I told her this recently as we were worrying about the kids and talking about life — I said to her, ‘We have grinded out 25 years of a beautiful thing and I am significantly better for being with you. I’m excited every day to wake up and (live it) with you.’ I can’t tell you how much my life, and who I am, if we are here to learn and grow, if that’s the point, then I have found the perfect person to be with because I am learning and growing every day. It’s amazing and I love it.”
“Chocolate chip bundt cake, warm out of the oven, with ice cream.”
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.