‘Everything is way better over here’: Brandon Young Jr. embracing fresh start after transferring from North Texas

There were murmurs about Brandon Young Jr.’s potential all throughout UTSA’s fall camp. In 2025, the Roadrunners’ tight end room was a defining strength of their offense, as it has been all throughout Jeff Traylor’s tenure. 

But that changed when Houston Thomas and Patrick Overmyer entered the transfer portal, and Dan Dishman graduated. UTSA had a few younger options — Ty Rupe and Isaiah Butler-Tanner — on its roster, but the team needed more collective experience at the position. 

Enter Young. 

Despite coming to San Antonio with two years of experience at North Texas, he only racked up 17 receiving yards in his time with the Mean Green. Young has flashed in his first season with the Roadrunners, including two SportsCenter Top 10-worthy plays — a one-handed touchdown snag against UTRGV (that actually made the SCTop10), and a highlight hurdle on a score against Navy. 

BRANDON YOUNG JR. WITH THE HURDLE 🔥

📺 | @ESPNCFB #BuiltToRise x @UTSAFTBL pic.twitter.com/wi2gvdTyR0

— The American (@American_Conf) October 18, 2026

“All glory to God,” Young said of his Week 1 catch. “Thank you to the coaches for giving me the opportunity to go make a play. Shout out to Owen [McCown] for throwing me the ball. I think he has a lot of trust in me to go make a play, so I made a play.” 

His athleticism and upside make you wonder why he wasn’t featured at North Texas. Whether Young has the answer or not, he refused to comment on his lack of opportunities with the Mean Green. 

“Next question,” he said. 

Through seven games, Young leads UTSA tight ends in receiving yards, even after suffering a shoulder injury earlier in the season that Traylor says really “got to his mental.” 

“He got banged up a little early,” Traylor said. “But it’s getting healed. It got to him. It really bothered him. He’s got a good mom, though. She got him through it. Coach [Hunter] Rittiman, he’s a huge fan of [Young], as I am. 

“We got him through it. We just had to kind of take care of him a little bit. It was tough. New place, you get injured. You don’t want to let your teammates down. You want to be tough. It’s hard to be tough when you’re injured.”

Young says he’s “good” now, and ready to continue embracing his new opportunity at UTSA. He was a part of the Mean Green’s infamous 30-player transfer class following coach Eric Morris’ departure for Oklahoma State. Young says following Morris was never an option. 

“No, I never really wanted to anyways,” he explained. “I’m glad I’m here. Shout out to God. Shout out to the coaches for bringing me here.” 

Transferring to a rival school naturally draws questions about how the two programs compare to each other. Young didn’t mince words when talking about the differences between UTSA and North Texas.

“Everything is way better over here,” he explained. “Shout out to them boys over there. They’re playing over here soon. It’ll be a good game.”

Young sees a rematch with his former team on the horizon, but right now, his only concern is the Roadrunners, and the matchup in front of them.

“I’m worried about us,” Young said. “Week by week, we want to be 1-0 every week. I’m not really worried about [North Texas].”