Former Notre Dame WR Michael Young working through grad transfer options

Planning recruiting visits in the midst of the nationwide coronavirus scare hasn’t been easy for Michael Young.

The former Irish wide receiver is trying to wade through the uncertainty while finishing his final semester at Notre Dame. On Wednesday, Notre Dame canceled next week’s classes and announced plans for in-person classes from March 23 through at least April 13 to be conducted online.

Young, who still has two years of eligibility remaining, stayed at Notre Dame to complete his Bachelor of Arts degree with a Film, Television and Theatre major despite entering the NCAA transfer portal in October.

Notre Dame has still honored Young’s scholarship, he told the Tribune in a text message. NCAA rules permit schools to drop a player from scholarship at the conclusion of the semester in which the student-athlete entered the transfer portal. But the Irish aren’t making Young foot the bill to receive his degree this spring.

In looking for potential landing spots, Young said he’s currently considering Northwestern and Cincinnati and plans to visit both. Attending spring practices at both schools would have been ideal, but that’s where the uncertainty of the coronavirus scare could impact his planning.

Regardless, Young hopes to complete a graduate transfer and be able to play immediately in 2020. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound Young caught six passes for 21 yards in three games last season before deciding to transfer. Young suffered a broken collarbone in August that sidelined him for the first three games of the season.

Young played in all 26 games of his first two seasons at Notre Dame. He caught 11 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns as a freshman and sophomore. Because Young played in only three games as a junior, it qualifies as a redshirt season.

Young came to Notre Dame as a three-star recruit out of Destrehan (La.) High in the 2017 class. He was high school teammates with LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who caught 111 passes for 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns for national champion LSU last season.

Cincinnati offers a couple of previous connections to Young. Cincinnati offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock initially recruited Young as Notre Dame’s associate head coach and wide receivers coach. Former Cincinnati wide receiver Armon Binns recently joined the Bearcats’ staff in a quality control role this offseason. He worked with wide receivers at Notre Dame as an offensive analyst in 2018.

Northwestern needs playmakers to jolt an impotent offense from 2019. The Wildcats finished the season ranked No. 126 of 130 in the FBS in scoring offense (16.3 points per game) and passing offense (117 yards per game). Northwestern added a graduate transfer at quarterback this week in Indiana’s Peyton Ramsey.