Doyle Young grew up in Temple, TX, where he was active in sports and music.

He received the B.A and M.A. degrees in Religion from Baylor University and then the M.Div. and Ph.D. degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX. After graduation, he joined the faculty at Southwestern where he taught for eleven years, teaching courses at both the M.Div. and Ph.D. levels. During this period he pursued additional studies at the University of Oxford and at Duke University and published several articles and a book.

He then graduated from the Baylor University School of Law in 1996. During his law school days he was a member of the editorial board of the Baylor Law Review and of the Baylor Law Mock Trial team that won a regional competition. He also completed an internship with U.S. District Judge Walter S. Smith, Jr.

After his law school graduation he worked briefly for two law firms in the Fort Worth area before becoming an associate attorney and then a partner in the Waco law firm of Zimmerman, Zimmerman, Cotner, & Young. Here he practiced civil litigation for eleven years and became board-certified by the State Bar of Texas in Personal Injury Trial Law.

Since 2009 he has practiced almost exclusively in the area of criminal defense, though he does accept selective personal injury cases.

He is married and has two adult children and two grandchildren. He spends a lot of time serving as a sub-deacon at St. Andrew Orthodox Church in Waco.