John Young enters his 12th season on the Denison University football coaching staff in 2024 as the Big Red's cornerbacks coach. The Big Red have had a winning season and have finished in the top-four of the North Coast Athletic Conference in each of Coach Young's years in Granville, Ohio. From 2015 to 2019, Denison had five straight seasons with at least seven victories, and went 38-13 overall with two NCAC Championships and one NCAA Division III playoff appearance in 2018.
In 2023, the Big Red won their final four games to finish the season 7-3 overall and tie for second place in the North Coast Athletic Conference standings (6-2) for the second year in a row. Jaylin Epps (junior corner back) was named First-Team All-NCAC after recording a career-high 15 pass breakups and two interceptions to go along with 15 total tackles and 10 solo tackles. Epps had at least one pass breakup in all but two games for the Big Red and was ranked first in the NCAC and tied for second nationally in passes defended (1.70 per game). On the defensive side of the ball, Denison had the No. 2-rated overall defense in the NCAC (44th nationally), the top passing defense in the NCAC (181.8 yards per game), the second-best rushing defense in the NCAC, and the No. 2-ranked third-down conversion percentage defense in the NCAC (20th nationally).
Denison finished its 2022 season 8-2 overall and 6-2 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, which was good for a tie for second place, while junior cornerback Roshaune Downie was named First-Team All-NCAC and D3football.com Third-Team All-Region after leading the Big Red with four interceptions and 18 pass breakups. Downie led the NCAC in interceptions, pass breakups and total passed defended (22), and was the only player in the conference to average over two passes defended per game. He was also ranked second in all of NCAA Division III in pass breakups, total passes defended and passed defended per game, and was tied for 39th in interceptions per game (0.4).
In 2021, Denison finished 6-4 overall and 6-3 in the conference, which was tied for fourth place, while Young helped coach fifth-year cornerback Cory Swartzmiller to First-Team All-NCAC and D3football.com Third-Team All-Region honors.
In 2019, the Big Red finished with an overall record of 8-2, marking the program's third, eight-win season since 2016. The Big Red also captured a share of the conference championship for the second year in a row.
The 2018 season was a breakthrough campaign for the Big Red. After finishing the regular season with an 8-2 record, Denison captured a share of its first North Coast Athletic Conference championship since 1986. Denison earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship, marking the program's first playoff appearance in 33 years.
Young came to Denison with 18 years of coaching experience at the high school level. He received his B.A. from West Liberty State in 1998 and earned a masters degree from Salem International in 2008. Young spent the first two years of his undergraduate career at Mount Union where he was a member of the Purple Raiders' first national championship in 1993.
Young and his wife, Shelly, live in Heath, Ohio. He is a math teacher at Lakewood Middle School in Hebron, Ohio.
