Byron Young is ready to make an impact.

Alabama signed six defensive linemen during the 2019 recruiting cycle. Three of them enrolled early and went through spring practice, while the other three are set to arrive on campus on May 27.

One of the summer enrollees, Young, took notice of one of the early enrollees, DJ Dale, this spring. Dale worked with the first-team defense following the first of three scrimmages and exited the spring as a projected starter at nose tackle. Young hopes to have the same success when he gets to Tuscaloosa, Ala., he told BamaOnLine in an exclusive interview before enrolling.

“I think any freshman wants to come in and play right away,” Young said. “I know some of them might not be ready, but I think any freshman wants to come in right away and play. And when they see another freshman doing it that’s only been there maybe four or five months longer than them, it gives them a little bit of confidence. So, it definitely gives me a little bit more confidence.”

The Laurel, Miss., native has spent the last several months preparing for the next level. “It’s been a whole lot of working out, a whole lot of running,” he said. Like Dale did this spring, Young expects to come in and immediately contribute for the Crimson Tide this fall as a true freshman.

Alabama signee Byron Young

“They all tell me if I come in in shape, I should be on the field right away,” Young said. “If I do everything that I’ve got to do, they tell me that I’m strong enough to come in and play right away. But the problem with most freshmen is they come in out of shape, and they said if I’m in shape when I come in and I do everything I need to do, I should be on the field right away. Maybe not starting but getting good minutes in the rotation.”

Young totaled 125 tackles with 29.5 for loss and 17.5 sacks in 15 games of action as a senior at West Jones (Miss.) High School. There, he developed a relationship with his soon-to-be position coach, Brian Baker, who was unsuccessful at landing him at Mississippi State. However Young appreciates that he doesn’t have to craft a new bond like some of the Crimson Tide’s other newcomers.

“I already knew him because when he was at Mississippi State, he was recruiting me,” Young said. “It doesn’t seem too weird. I’m glad they got somebody that I already have a relationship with. Having to build another relationship with a completely different coach would have been a little bit rough, but it’s just about the same with when he was at Mississippi State. Nothing’s changed.”

Young said he wants to prove to Baker, Nick Saban and the rest of the coaching staff that he is ready to come in and play right away. That’s what he is hoping to accomplish this summer. But as far as what he is looking forward to the most when he moves in on Monday, it’s seeing how he reacts to being away from home for an extended period of time for the first time in his entire life.

Family is important to Young, and so is continuing his family’s tradition. Young is the youngest of five siblings, and his three brothers and two sisters have all attended college. That motivates the little brother -- only in age -- as he is set to embark on his own collegiate journey, and it takes him back to the days of his youth when his oldest brother, Kendrick, was playing football at Southern Illinois.

“I can remember when I was probably about six or seven years old and watching my oldest brother play in college and just wanting to be just like him,” Young said. “But I can remember him telling me I can be a whole lot better than him, and ever since then, I’ve just kept that mindset of, ‘OK, my brothers have been great, but I have a chance to do something that none of them have done.’ And it’s just motivated me to be the best that I can be every single day.”

Young was the nation’s 76th overall prospect, the No. 7-ranked defensive tackle and the No. 5 player from the state of Mississippi in the 2019 cycle, according to 247Sports. He is the first of the Young brothers to play at a Power 5 college, and he doesn’t want to let his family down.

That’s why his goals for his freshman season at Alabama are lofty.

“I’d love to be a Freshman All-American. That would be one of my really big goals,” Young said. “Another one would just be to make an impact. Make an impact on the team, make the team better than it was and just represent where I’m from. … I think I bring a lot of versatility. I think I’m able to pass rush and run stop. I think I bring a really, really good work ethic.

“That’s been instilled in from all my brothers and my parents.”

Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).

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