Ever been at a bar or a family BBQ and someone drops the "fun fact" that Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young is related to the guy who founded BYU? Most people nod, assume it’s just a namesake thing, or think it's some distant, fuzzy connection. But honestly, it’s way more direct than that.
We’re talking about a real, documented lineage that links one of the most prolific leaders in American religious history to the guy who threw six touchdowns in a single Super Bowl.
It’s not just a coincidence of the last name. Jon Steven Young is the great-great-great-grandson of Brigham Young.
Think about that for a second. The man who led the Mormon pioneers across the plains and into the Salt Lake Valley is the direct ancestor of the guy who spent the 90s scrambling away from 300-pound defensive linemen. If you look at the family tree, it’s a straight shot. Steve’s father is LeGrande "Grit" Young. Grit’s father was Scott Richmond Young. If you keep tracing that line back through the generations—specifically through the line of Seymour Bicknell Young—you land right at the feet of the second President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Why the Connection Felt Different at BYU
When Steve Young showed up at Brigham Young University in 1980, he wasn't exactly treated like royalty. In fact, he was eighth on the depth chart.
Imagine being the direct descendant of the guy whose name is on the stadium, the library, and the jerseys, and you're the guy holding the clipboard for seven other people. Steve has talked about this quite a bit in his memoir, QB: My Life Behind the Spiral. He actually felt a massive amount of pressure, but it wasn't necessarily about the "Young" name. It was about the "Young" talent—or lack thereof, at least in the eyes of the coaches early on.
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The funny thing? The head coach at the time, the legendary LaVell Edwards, didn't even realize Steve was a direct descendant at first. When he finally found out, his reaction was basically, "Oh, your last name is Young for a reason."
The Complexity of the Legacy
You've got to understand that Brigham Young wasn't just a religious figure; he was a colonizer, a governor, and a man with 55 wives and 56 children. Because he had such a massive family, there are literally thousands of people today who can claim he’s their great-great-something. But Steve is one of the few who had to carry that name under the brightest lights imaginable.
There’s a specific kind of scrutiny that comes with being a "Young" at BYU. You aren't just a student-athlete; you’re a walking representative of the brand. Steve didn't even serve a traditional two-year mission, which is a huge deal in that culture. He struggled with severe separation anxiety—a detail he’s been remarkably open about in recent years. Instead of proselytizing in a foreign country, he stayed at school, refined his game, and eventually became the left-handed miracle that 49ers fans still worship today.
- The Lineage: Brigham Young -> Brigham Young Jr. -> Seymour Bicknell Young -> Seymour Bicknell Young Jr. -> Scott Richmond Young -> LeGrande "Grit" Young -> Steve Young.
- The BYU Era: Steve wasn't a legacy recruit. He had to scrap his way from the bottom of the pile to beat out guys like Jim McMahon.
- The Professional Shadow: Even in the NFL, the "Mormon Quarterback" label followed him. He wasn't just Steve Young; he was the BYU kid, the law student, the descendant.
Breaking the "Golden Boy" Myth
People like to paint Steve Young as this perfect, stoic figure who had everything handed to him because of his ancestry. That’s just not true. Honestly, his career was kind of a mess for a while. He went to the USFL first, playing for the Los Angeles Express, and then got stuck in the dumpster fire that was the mid-80s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
His relation to Brigham Young didn't help him complete passes when the Bucs' offensive line was folding like a lawn chair.
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When he finally got to San Francisco, he had to sit behind Joe Montana. Can you imagine the mental toughness required for that? You're the heir to a religious dynasty and the heir to a football dynasty, but you're still sitting on the bench. It took years for him to finally "get the monkey off his back," as he famously said after winning Super Bowl XXIX.
What This Means for Us Today
So, why does any of this matter in 2026?
It matters because it shows how legacy actually works. It isn't a free pass. If anything, the connection between Brigham Young and Steve Young highlights that names only get you so far. Steve’s career wasn't defined by who his great-great-great-grandfather was; it was defined by his 4.0 GPA, his law degree, and his ability to read a blitz while running for his life.
If you’re looking to dig deeper into this, here are the real-world next steps:
- Check out the genealogy records: If you’re a history nerd, the LDS Church’s FamilySearch database has the entire Young family tree digitized. You can literally see the signatures.
- Read the memoir: Get QB: My Life Behind the Spiral. It’s one of the few sports books that actually feels honest about mental health and the weight of religious expectation.
- Visit the BYU Legacy Hall: If you’re ever in Provo, the campus has a hall of fame that bridges the gap between the university’s founder and its most famous athletes.
The connection is real, it’s deep, and it’s a lot more complicated than a simple trivia answer.