University of North Carolina Athletics
Hard-Nosed Chase Younts Fires Up Diamond Heels
May 6, 2005 | Baseball
May 6, 2005
By Nick Gallo
UNC Athletic Communications
Fo' shizzle dizzle! It's the big Snoop D-O-double gizzle with my homeboy Chizzle!
This is not by any means an introduction by or for rapper Snoop Dogg himself, but rather it's a rolling out of the red carpet for Carolina baseball's own senior centerfielder Chase "Chizzle" Younts.
"I don't know, but it probably started with my old roommate Bo Dickerson in the dorm room or something," said Younts of his unique nickname. "You know how Snoop Dogg talks about drizzle, izzle and all that stuff? People just started calling me Chizzle, Chizzy and Chizz. Coach Fox will even call me that every now and again and I'll just be like `What?'"
It's funny how Younts reacts in such an astonished manner to his skipper's adoption of his shizzolated nickname because Fox acted in the same way nearly five years ago when Younts caught his eye late in the recruiting season at the North Carolina State Games in Raleigh.
"I saw him run after a ball that was clearly headed foul," said Fox. "He sprinted from left field and dove after it. You know this is in the State Games. I think the score didn't even really matter at that point. I saw him sprint on and off the field each inning and that was enough for me."
Younts admits that at the time he had offers on the table from other schools, but that he had not yet found the perfect fit. That all changed when North Carolina entered the picture.
"The door was open and it was a pretty easy decision once I talked to coach Fox and he offered me a chance to play," said Younts, who has played in 43 games and made 29 starts in center field this season. I was excited and definitely ready to come to Carolina once I heard from him."
Younts' decision to become a Tar Heel seemed like a no brainer, but the possibility of redshirting his freshman season still loomed large over his head.
We're talking about Chase Younts here. Central Davidson Senior High School's three-sport star in baseball, basketball and football that was named the Spartans' best athlete as a senior in 2000.
Would Younts be able to adjust from his big man on campus status as a Spartan and keep his talent bottled up on the bench during his first collegiate season or would his inability to compete between the chalked lines get the best of him?
Let's go straight to the source.
"Instead of looking at it [redshirting] as you know I am not going to be able to play at all, I just tried to look at it as a year I would use to get stronger and get better at baseball, and to just improve all my skills," said Younts. "Basically, I just decided to take advantage of it."
And he did. In the eyes of coach Fox, Younts' redshirt year set the tone for his career at Carolina.
"He's worked tremendously hard," said Fox. "He's not the most talented, not the fastest and doesn't have the best arm, but he makes up for that with his grit and determination. Nowadays, Chase pretty much deserves to be out there for us. He has been a big leader for us because he's such a hard worker."
While many athletes have to constantly push themselves to work hard everyday on the field or in the weight room, others like Younts do not because working hard just comes naturally.
"It started out with my dad who played baseball at Liberty and coached high school and legion ball," said Younts. "When I was younger, I'd always hear him telling his teams that you don't have to be the most talented player or the best guy on the team, but everybody can hustle and everybody can bring it to the field and be ready to play everyday. It's just something he instilled in me so I've always played like that."
Another characteristic Younts possesses that sets hit apart from his teammates is his fiery, intense attitude. Something he attributes to his days on the gridiron.
"My emotions get me in trouble sometimes," said Younts. "Sometimes they just take over and are geared more towards football than baseball in a way. Not that I necessarily lose my temper, but just sometimes I want to let it go and tackle somebody."
Younts longs for those Friday nights he spent playing free safety, wide receiver, returning kickoffs and punts, and sprinting down the field on the kickoff and punt coverage teams for the Spartans.
"I didn't really come off the field much in football," said Younts.
Yeah, you think?
Although Younts misses suiting up for the Spartans and busting some heads, he misses one thing about football in particular even more.
"I really miss just hearing the band play and standing back there for the opening kickoff," said Younts. "I miss that feeling, that adrenaline rush you get when you're standing back there and you're ready to catch the ball and everybody's trying to come take your head off. First time you get hit in a game, you're just ready to go."
Over the years Younts has learned to channel his football motivated aggression because he came to the realization that baseball is a totally different game. "If you let your emotions get to you in baseball, it will just break you down because you're not going to succeed every time," said Younts. "You're doing well if you hit .300 and that still means you fail every seven out of ten times. You've got to learn to just deal with things and keep your emotions and yourself under control. That's how I've been able to succeed."
During his career at Carolina, Younts has seen it all. He was part of the 2001 Diamond Heels who started off 0-7 in ACC play. In 2002, he helped the Tar Heels earn a NCAA Regional birth for the first time since 1989. This season, Carolina currently stands at 36-10-1, a record good enough for a No. 9 national ranking, and in good position to challenge for the ACC regular season crown with a third-place record of 15-6-1.
He is batting .297 so far this season and has driven in 14 runs. The speedy centerfielder has nine doubles, a team-best three triples and one home run for a total of 13 extra-base hits. Younts is slugging .480 and came off the bench for three key hits in Carolina's 6-3, 12-inning win at NC State on April 30.
Younts has seen it all, but he would like to see more.
"The ultimate goal is Omaha," said Younts. "We haven't won an ACC Championship since I've been here either so that would be great if we won the regular season or the tournament this year also. I just want to win some sort of championship this year and maybe host a regional, but finishing strong is the most important thing for us so we have the opportunity to do these things."
