Clemson Football’s Kyle Young, Chad Carson, Named Academic All-Americans

Dec. 7, 1999

Clemson, S.C.–Clemson starting center Kyle Young and starting inside linebacker Chad Carson have both been named GTE Academic All-Americans by the College Sports Information Directors of America. The organization selects the official academic All-America teams in all sports in all divisions. Young, a native of Clemson, SC, was a first-team selection, while Carson, of Newnan, GA, was a second-team choice.

Young has a 3.96 career GPA in secondary education, while Carson has a 3.90 GPA in biological sciences. Both players are juniors in the classroom and sophomores on the football field.

“Kyle Young and Chad Carson are certainly to be commended,” said Clemson Head Coach Tommy Bowden. “Both have outstanding balance in their lives. To be among the leaders of our team on the field and accomplish what they have done in the classroom sets an outstanding example for our players, current and future.”

This is the first year in history that Clemson has had two Academic All-America selections in the same year. Clemson was one of just three Division I schools to have two players honored. Nebraska had three and Penn State also had two on the first two teams. Clemson will be the only team in the nation with two returning academic All-Americans in the year 2000.

Young is the first first-team selection by the GTE CoSida team since 1978 when Steve Fuller was chosen. Clemson has had first-team selections by the American Football Coaches Association since 1978. He started every game at center this year and led the team in knockdown blocks.

An honorable mention All-ACC selection, Young was a major reason Clemson averaged over 400 yards per game in total offense for just the third time in history. His pass blocking was a key reason Clemson set school records for passing yardage, completions and completion percentage.

Carson finished the regular season with 128 tackles, 11.6 per game. That figured ranked second on the Clemson team and third in the ACC. He also had four tackles for loss and one sack. He had eight games of at least 10 tackles, including a season high 16 in the win over Wake Forest, and 15 in the win over North Carolina.