Arizona football S Scottie Young Jr. enters transfer portal

Arizona Wildcats rising senior safety Scottie Young Jr. announced Thursday he is entering the transfer portal to play his final year of eligibility elsewhere.

“I want to thank the University of Arizona and every coach I had here for giving me the opportunity to play college football and also be a part of my career at Arizona,” his statement read. “I would like to thank all my teammates for the lifelong relationships we built and the lasting memories. Thank you for being there through my high and low moments.

“I am very thankful for the U of A, these past three years have have been amazing and I would not trade it for anything, but after talking with my family and all the coaches I have decided to enter my name into the transfer portal and finish my eligibility at another university.”

Young started 12 games in 2019 and had 66 tackles last year to go with an interception and four passes defensed. His tackles were tied for fourth most on the team.

The news comes after three Arizona safeties have already transferred this offseason. Arizona hired new defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads in December. Rhoads previously coached defensive backs at Pac-12 foe UCLA.

The Wildcats had a tumultuous 2019 season, wherein assistant coaches were fired midseason and a mild quarterback controversy between Khalil Tate and Grant Gunnell emerged. Arizona finished last in the Pac-12 South with a 2-7 record in conference and 4-8 overall.

In 2017, Young was arrested on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. The charge was dismissed after he went through a diversion program.

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