Lehigh Acres (Fla.) Senior five-star running back Richard Young (5-11, 200) released his top seven schools on Sunday, and Ohio State is among his final contenders.
The Buckeyes are joined by Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas A&M as the top schools for one of 2023’s top-rated running backs. He’s the No. 19 overall prospect and No. 2 running back according to the 247Sports composite rankings.
Young has been one of Ohio State’s top 2023 targets since offering him on Dec. 15, 2020. Since receiving his offer, he’s camped with the Buckeyes and made several unofficial visits, the most recent coming on Oct. 30, 2021.
“He’s one of the most coveted prospects to come out of Southwest Florida in recent memory,” said 247Sports analyst Andrew Ivins. “He’s a one-cut-and-go type of running back that’s powerful enough to get it done in-between the tackles. He has excellent vision and overall feel for the position allows him to get up field in a hurry and attack holes. He has outstanding contact balance combined with an effective stiff arm makes it extremely difficult for high school defenders to bring him to the ground. He also has experience working out of single back, shotgun and pistol formations.”
After only taking Dallan Hayden in last year’s cycle, Ohio State will be looking to take two running backs in this next class. The Buckeyes are heavily involved with Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) American Heritage four-star running back Mark Fletcher (6-1, 225), who is set to commit on Tuesday.
Other targets include Orlando (Fla.) Edgewater four-star running back Cedric Baxter Jr. (6-1, 215) and Rosell (Ga.) Blessed Trinity Catholic four-star running back Justice Haynes (5-10, 200).
