Ducks become contenders to land RB Richard Young

If you were to look at the 247Sports recruiting profile for 5-star running back Richard Young — the No. 2 RB in the 2023 class — you would see a Crystal Ball Prediction for him to choose the Alabama Crimson Tide.

However, if you start to dig a bit deeper into the situation, there are some really solid trends in his recruitment that might favor the Oregon Ducks.

For starters, the prediction for Alabama came back in April of 2022, and a lot has happened since then. For starters, Young took an official visit to Oregon in June alongside now Oregon QB commit Dante Moore, which he seemed to absolutely love.

Not long after the visit, Young released his top-3 schools, with the Ducks alongside Alabama and the Georgia Bulldogs. However, some recruiting movement took place over the weekend that could shift things a little bit. Alabama got a commitment from 4-star RB Justice Haynes, the No. 3 RB in the 2023 class. Might that dissuade Young from going to Tuscaloosa as well? Would he rather join Dante Moore and Dante Dowdell in Eugene?

Lastly, it’s important to remember that there are respected recruiting sites outside of 247Sports. One of the best — On3 — has an updated Recruiting Prediction Machine which gives Oregon much more favorable odds to land Young.

Do those numbers shift a bit after the Crimson Tide landed an elite RB with Young yet to decide? We’ll see. Regardless, it’s looking pretty clear that Oregon is going to be in on Young down to the wire, and it could be exciting to watch how things land.

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Richard Young’s Recruiting Profile

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