Purdue TE Dave Young dies at 64, cause of death unknown

The college football world is mourning the death of legendary Purdue Boilermakers tight end Dave Young.

Purdue confirmed the news on social media on Wednesday morning that Young had passed away at age 64.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Dave Young. An All-American, a record-breaking tight end, and a great Boilermaker."

Young played for Purdue from 1977 till 1980 and caught 173 passes for 2,202 yards and 24 touchdowns.

In his senior year for the Boilermakers in 1980, Young was a consensus All-American. He recorded 70 passes for 959 yards and nine touchdowns in his final season and also earned all Big Ten Honors.

Purdue went 28-7-1 and had three straight bowl appearances when Young was there.

After his legendary college career, Dave Young was a second-round pick of the New York Giants in the NFL in 1981. He was inducted into Purdue's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009 and is considered, arguably, the best tight end in Boilermakers history.

At the time of writing, the cause of death is unknown, but our thoughts go out to Young's family and friends at this time.

Purdue is set to host Indiana on Saturday, so a tribute for Young will likely take place in the Boilermakers final game of the season.

Dave Young's NFL career

After a dominant four-year career at Purdue, Young was drafted 32nd overall by the New York Giants in 1981.

In his rookie season, he played in 11 games with the Giants and recorded five passes for 49 yards and one touchdown. The tight end only lasted one season with New York and went to Baltimore in 1982, but could only play one game for them that season.

After Baltimore moved to Indianapolis, Young stayed with the franchise for the 1983 season and played in 13 games, starting nine, and caught 14 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns.

His third and final NFL season was his most productive but he was out of the NFL after just three seasons.

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