Byron Young walked into a Dollar General on a recent visit to Columbus, Georgia.

He saw old coworkers and friends and talked about the past. He talked about dreams and how to obtain them. He would know.

This is where his journey began more than four years ago after his football career had seemingly ended after a prep school in Alabama he was playing for ended their program after just two games in 2017.

Young needed work, so he earned a job as an assistant manager at Dollar General. After playing high school football in his native Hemingway, South Carolina, the dream of continuing to play at the next level was seemingly shattered. Then he came across a flyer advertising tryouts at Georgia Military College.

Young pursued the opportunity and made the most of it, garnering attention after a stellar 2019 season. The offers from Power Five programs came later and Young signed with Tennessee ahead of the 2021 season, completing one goal that seemed out of reach less than two years before.

So Young returned to that Dollar General with a new perspective. He had just performed in the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and impressed. His dreams of playing pro football are well within reach now.

"I just went back home and went to my old jobs, went to my old junior college," Young said. "Just appreciate everyone that helped me along the way. The coaches, I went back there and spent time with the coaches and the kids, just telling them my story and telling them that it feels like you're not going anywhere but that's just how it's going to be.

"Just put your head down and keep grinding. Going back to Dollar General and talking to them...it really means a lot and I'm so grateful. I'm never going to forget where I came from."

Young proved himself as an edge rusher in the SEC, totaling a team-high seven sacks, 12 tackles for loss and 14 quarterback hurries this past season.

He didn't find the stage at the combine at Lucas Oil Stadium too big, either, running his best 40-yard dash time in 4.43 seconds.

That number was a surprise to scouts, but not to Young. He spent nearly two months in training to reach that speed and it showed.

"It didn't surprise me," Young said. "A lot of people were surprised. I was surprised when I first ran it at training, I was doing it for weeks. I had been training since January so I wasn't surprised in March. I just knew I had to put on a show. Running in those conditions, you know, being on camera and everyone is watching, it's kind of hard at the same time. I'm thankful I got it done."

On Thursday inside the Anderson Training Center, he got one more opportunity to impress the bevy of scouts on hand.

Though he didn't participate in the 40 this time around, Young showed off his speed in cone drills and continued talks with several NFL team representatives.

Young's experience at the LEO position combined with his combine numbers has led to conversations with teams that use a three-man front on defense, but for the former assistant manager, he's just grateful to be where he is now.

"I could see me playing for (teams that run a three-man front) more than others, maybe," Young said. "But all the teams are really showing great interest. Just hearing from those guys means a lot."

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