'Jacks Add Two At Semester Break
1/22/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Jan. 22, 2002
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack football coach Mike Santiago has announced the addition of two student-athletes to the football team with the start of the spring semester. Shawn Young, a 6-3, 225 pound defensive end, has transferred to SFA from the University of Texas - El Paso, and will have four years of eligibility remaining. Also joining the Lumberjacks for the spring semester is Nick Lane, a 6-3, 275 pound defensive lineman from Australia. Lane will also have four years of eligibility remaining with the Lumberjacks.
"We are very excited with the decision of Shawn Young to transfer to SFA and play for the Lumberjacks. After spending one season in El Paso, Shawn determined he wanted to be somewhere a little closer to home. He is an outstanding football player and should help us immediately up front. Nick Lane on the other hand couldn't be much further away from home. We saw him on tape last year playing Australian Football and saw what a tremendous athlete he is and decided he is worth a scholarship based on athletic ability alone. Nick will be learning the American game at the college level and learning to play with his hand on the ground. He should be fun to watch over the coming years," said Santiago.
Lane has never played organized American football and will have four years of eligibility remaining. He becomes the second Australian on athletic scholarship on the SFA campus, joining Ben Hunt, a junior on the Lumberjack basketball team. Lane is from Melbourne, Australia.
Young was a standout high school player at Houston's MacArthur High School his senior season in which he served as a team captain. Young recorded 36 tackles and six sacks as a defensive end his senior year. As a junior at Ozen High School in Beaumont, Young played both defensive end and tight end, recording 10 catches for 200 yards as a junior. Young was a three year varsity letterwinner in high school and also lettered in track as both a sophomore and junior at Ozen. Young was a 200-meter regional champion as a junior and was also outstanding academically, earning honor roll honors at Beaumont Ozen.
Both student-athletes will work out with the team this spring and be eligible to play next fall for the 'Jacks. SFA opens spring practice Monday, March 18.
