The next inductee into the Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame sat down with Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area for the latest episode of the 49ers Insider Podcast.
Young wore No. 97 during his time with San Francisco, the only team he played for during his 14-year career. Another player wears that number now — defensive end Nick Bosa. What does Young, who spent some time coaching through the college and pro ranks after his NFL career, think about the talented second-year player?
"Nick does a good job just in terms of one, being a very knowledgable player," Young told Maiocco. "He sees the game. You can tell he's been surrounded by good coaching. And then just his family history. His dad played, his brother played, and so there's some history there, as well, from a player perspective."
Bosa racked up nine regular-season and four postseason sacks on the way to being named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and is already considered one of the best young defensive talents in the league. He earned a Pro Bowl selection during his rookie campaign.
"He came in his first year, and did his job, did it well," Young continued, "made some really big plays throughout the season, brought some energy and fire to the defense, to the fans, inspired a lot of people. So it was good to see a young man like that come in and really do his job in his first year, and do it good."
As for the rest of the team, Young doesn't expect to see a drop-off from last year's performance. He expects the Kyle Shanahan-led squad to continue competing and potentially fight for championships.
"I feel good about where they are," Young shared. "I know they will, I feel it in my heart, that they'll pick up where they left off. They were very, very close to just getting over the top and winning that championship.
"But I think Kyle and the rest of the coaching staff are doing an amazing job, as well as the front office, and John Lynch and his staff just bringing the right people in. I think it's a good mixture of leadership, and that's what you need.
"So, I think they'll pick up where they left off. That's my hope, and I'm believing in that."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Young below. It begins at about the 8-minute mark. The portion about Bosa starts near the 17-minute mark.