NFL Draft Diamonds Prospect Interview: Cudjoe Young II, WR, University of North Texas

• Name: Cudjoe Young

• Height: 6010

• Weight: 200

• Position: WR

• College: University of North Texas

• Twitter: @Cmoyii

Tell us about your hometown, and what you love most about it?

• I’m from Chattanooga, Tennessee and i love my city, not to many people make it out because its not a big city but we starting to put some big names out there and hopefully i become next

List these three in order of importance and why: Film Study, Strength and Conditioning and Practice?

• I don’t place any of these over another because to me they are all priorities and essential to being great and being prepared. If I put in hours and hours of film study, I’m already knowing what to expect from my opponent, I am learning his tendencies, does he like to be physical, does he have good technique and etc. Strength and conditioning, you can’t play football without those, I have to be prepared to go to war and make sure I am in the best shape as possible so when others are tired, I’m ready to win the game. And to me practice is harder than the game, I love to practice, I learned that from the greats.

What do you worry about, and why?

• I worry about my family, my granny and my sister. Getting in a position to get them from the environment that they are in and taking care of my loved ones, its bigger than me.

Give me an example of when you failed at something. How did you react and how did you overcome failure?

• A time I failed at something was I went and tried out for multiple JUCOS and nobody would take me in, I didn’t quit, I went and red shirted at Glendale JUCO In Arizona and became the leading receiver as a freshman while being put on scholarship and being named team captain.

What do your teammates say is your best quality?

• Anybody that has ever played any sport with me will tell you I set the standard, I’m a leader, that’s just who I am. I work harder than everybody round me and others follow, i lead by example and I give my teammates and coaches everything I have.

Who is the best player you have ever played against in college?

• Best player i have played against in college is Kam Prewitt.

What would your career be if you couldn’t play football? 

• My career would be coaching either football or basketball at the JUCO level.

Room, desk and car – which do you clean first?

• I clean my room first because that’s where you lay head and my granny always told me if your room is clean then you’re bound to have a good day and everything else will follow. 

If there was a disaster and you could either save three strangers or one family member, which would you choose and why?

• I’m choosing my family to save because family comes before anything else and I was raised off of family.

If you could be any television or movie character, who would you be and why?

• If I had to be any television character I would be Liam Neeson because he did whatever he had to do to save his family and that’s what’s most important to me.

Tell me about your biggest adversity in life and how you’ve dealt with or overcome it?

• My biggest adversity in life was moving away from my home city to get a fresh start. I was in a bad environment and was heading down the wrong path, so moving away and starting over in a different state far away from home, I had to reinvent myself and change my way of thinking, and that was me becoming a man and that changed my life forever

What is your most embarrassing moment?

• My most embarrassing moment was falling off a bike off the hill when I told everybody to watch me ride down the hill with no hands and I end up falling hard.

What song best describes your work ethic?

•  The song that best describes my work ethic is Kevin Gates IDGT

What is the most important trait you can have (Physical or Non-Physical) to help you succeed at the next level? 

• My most important trait for me to succeed at the next level is my mindset. I’m going to work harder than everybody, and I’m very competitive and confident, my mindset is different, I get in my playbook and know my plays, and do the things that I need to do to get an opportunity, my mindset and work ethic is what will get me there and keep me there.

If you could bring one person back from the dead for one day, who would it be and why?

• If I can bring one person back from the dead, it would be my cousin Malik, because we grew up together and he died young and I just want to be able to show my cousin a better side of life and so he could be a father to his daughter. 

If you were to open a dance club, what would you name it? 

• If I was to open a dance club, I would name it sweet feet.

Who is the most overrated player in the NFL? 

• Most overrated player in the NFL, I don’t speak down on other people, I worry about me and the people around me.

Would you rather be liked or respected, and why?

• I would rather be respected because that something people give you on they own, and that’s something nobody can take away from you because that’s just who you are.

What player who had his career derailed by off-field issues do you feel for the most and why?

• A player who had their career derailed for off the field issues I feel for is Colin Kaepernick because all he did was try to bring attention to something that was going on in the world that nobody else seemed to care  about and I’m grateful for Kaep and the moves he is making in the community

Do you love to win, or hate to lose?

• I hate to lose, its a lesson for me, its a time for me to get back in the lab and continue to perfect myself.

Who has been the biggest influence on your life and explain why?

• My Granny has the biggest influence on my life because all my life I’ve seen her give and give and break her neck for me and my sister, always supported everything we did and always had our back good and bad, always worked her tail off to make sure we had what we needed, and one day I will repay her and give her everything she could dream of. My Queen.