Lenoir-Rhyne University Athletics

Chris Young joined the Lenoir-Rhyne Football coaching staff as the Wide Receivers Coach prior to the 2025 season.

Young has as an extensive coaching background with stops at IMG Academy, North Carolina A&T, Elon, Colgate, and the University of Albany. 

Prior to joining Lenoir-Rhyne's staff, Young was an assistant coach for national high school power IMG Academy. There he helped develop three wide receivers that signed Power 4 scholarships and led the offensive to improvements in points per game, passing yards per game, total yards per game, completion percentage, and pass efficiency. 

During the 2023 season Young as the Offensive Coordinator at North Carolina A&T where he implemented all offensive game plans, schemes, and installations. Over the last five games NC A&T averaged 27.5 ppg and finished with the fourth ranked rushing attack in the CAA. 

From 2019-22 he was the Wide Receiver's Coach at NCAA Division I Elon. He developed three all-conference wide receivers in his three seasons with the team, the first all-conference receivers Elon had in 10 years. The offensive improved every year Young was a part of the team, going from 57th in 2019, 34th in 2021, and 27th in 2022. In addition to their on field success, his position group GPA was a 3.1 for four consecutive semesters.

Young spent a bulk of his time at NCAA Division I FCS Colgate University, coaching there from 2003-2019. He began as an Wide Receivers Coach / Special Teams Coordinator and was the Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks Coach from 2014-19. He was a part of one of the biggest stories of the 2018 FCS season when Colgate went 10-2 overall and 6-0 in conference play on the way to an appearance in the national quarterfinals after beating James Madison in the second round. Along the way, Colgate averaged 27.0 points per game, including 344.3 yards per outing.

In 2017, Young coached first-year quarterback Grant Breneman to Patriot League Rookie of the Year honors, as the Raiders rolled to their ninth conference championship. During the season, Breneman wrapped up one of the best campaigns by a first-year quarterback in Colgate history, completing 56.7 percent of his passes for 1,594 yards with 18 touchdowns to five interceptions. His 18 TD passes tied him for the fifth-best by a Colgate quarterback in a single season and were the most since 2009. For his efforts, he was named one of 20 finalists for the STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award, presented annually to the nation's best first-year athlete at the FCS level.
 
Before spending time as Colgate's offensive coordinator, Young spent 11 seasons coaching wide receivers. During his tenure, Young tutored nine First Team All-Patriot League honorees, two Second Team picks and had both starting wide receivers named All-Patriot League in 2005, marking the first time in league history a team had both of its receivers recognized after the regular season by the Patriot League.
 
During the 2003 season, both J.B. Gerald and Luke Graham broke the school record for receptions in a season on the way to a 15-1 record and a berth in the FCS national title game. One year later in 2004, Graham and Dwayne Long were named First Team All-Patriot League as Colgate finished 7-4. In 2005, Long was again a first Team honoree and helped the Raiders win the Patriot League title.
 
In 2006 and 2007, Erik Burke was awarded All-League recognitions before Pat Simonds was tabbed First Team All-League and Offensive MVP after breaking the school record for receiving yards in a single season. One year later in 2008, Simonds became only the fifth Colgate player in program history to go over 1,000 yards receiving in a season. Under Young's guidance, he went on to set the school record for touchdowns with 15 in a single season while going over the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season in helping Colgate go 9-2 in 2009.
 
During his career, Young has shown a great willingness to expand his coaching knowledge. As part of the NFL's Minority Internship Program, Young worked with the Kansas City Chiefs during the summer of 2011 to assist with the quarterbacks and wide receivers. Other stints have come in 2012 with the NCAA/NFL Coaches Academy, in 2013 with the Green Bay Packers' wide receivers and quarterbacks and the San Diego Chargers' wide receivers before working with the Tennessee Titans' receivers in 2015.
 
Young joined Colgate after time at Albany, where he worked with the Great Danes' tackles and tight ends as a graduate assistant. Prior to Albany, Young served as wide receivers coach during the 2002 season at Canisius.
 
A three-year letterwinner at Colgate, Young earned First Team All-Patriot League honors in his senior season as a tight end after playing linebacker in his first three seasons with the Raiders.
 
Born in Mount Vernon, N.Y., Young graduated from Colgate in 1997 with a degree in sociology and anthropology.