The last time I saw former Boise State wide receiver Titus Young, he had tracked down columnist Brian Murphy and I outside the Detroit Lions’ locker room in August 2012 to give us hugs. He had that same endearing smile as the 17-year-old kid we met five years earlier when he arrived at Boise State as a budding phenom.
Five and a half years later — after a bizarre string of crimes — it’s clear to everyone that something is wrong with Young but nobody seems to have the answer. Mental illness and CTE-related problems created by the violence of football are the leading theories.