Oregon football to get visit from 2023’s No. 1 running back

If there’s one thing Oregon football coach Mario Cristobal has proven he can do at a high level, it’s recruit.

The former national recruiter of the year hasn’t skipped a step during his time in Eugene and he’s starting to land top-10 classes annually. He’s off to a solid start in 2022 but there’s still a lot of work to do but he’s already looking ahead to 2023.

In fact, he has his eyes on one of the best skill position players in the 2023 class in five-star running back Richard Young who is actually No. 1 at the position in the cycle.

It appears the interest is mutual as Young is planning a visit to Eugene at some point (to be determined) this summer.

The 6-foot-0, 190-pound back from Lehigh Acres, Fla., has already visited Georgia following the end of the year-long dead period and he has a schedule planned for the remainder of June and into the rest of the summer. He plans on visiting Ohio State this weekend, Florida State on June 19, Alabama on June 23, and Clemson on June 25. Florida and Oregon are visits without dates yet.

For Cristobal, this is a great development as he’s going to be sought after by every major program in the 2023 class. He’s ranked the No. 19 overall prospect in the nation.

A potential program-changer for Oregon football?

Young is not your typical running back. He’s explosive, he’s dangerous, he has size, and he’s just scratching the surface. The former freshman All-American is going to have offers from every major program by the time he’s a senior but he is already atop many blue bloods’ lists.

In fact, he’s high on Alabama, Oklahoma, Ohio State, and Georgia, among the others he’s visiting this summer, but he would be a program-changer for the Ducks.

Cristobal is doing a great job recruiting, but this would make his 2023 class. Young is the No. 1 running back for a reason and he would almost be an instant option to start in Oregon’s backfield before even stepping foot on campus.

Imagine going from CJ Verdell and Travis Dye to a guy like Young. No drop-off there, especially if Young is going to realize his potential early on.

Oregon needs to take advantage of this visit this summer and make an impression early.