Florida football makes top 10 for No. 1 running back recruit

Richard Young would be a game-changer for Florida. The No. 1 running back for 2023 named the Gators in his top 10.

Richard Young, the No. 1 running back in the class of 2023, named his top 10 on Sunday after receiving over 40 offers so far during recruitment. Florida made the cut along with Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon and USC.

The 6-foot, 190-pound back out of Lehigh Senior (Fla.) received an offer from the Gators before he started high school, according to Chad Simmons of Rivals. Young visited Florida most recently for the Gators’ Friday Night Lights camp at the end of July but has told stories of visits to games where the Gators faced the Seminoles before the COVID-19 pandemic.

FSU is Florida’s biggest in-state competition when it comes to Young after a June visit to Tallahassee that the recruit “loved.” Yet, the larger threat might be Alabama, which Young has described as a dream school.

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Running backs coach Greg Knox and head coach Dan Mullen have led the recruiting effort for Florida. Young knows he could be a major part of the offense for the Gators and Knox seems to be a fan of his skillset.

“He likes my vision, my cuts, my speed, how I read the holes and how I make cut backs,” young said to 247Sports. “He said he just likes how explosive I am and says he loves everything about how I play football. From what I have seen from their team, I think I could go in there and change their whole offense.”

Young has no timetable for his decision, but he’ll have plenty to consider as don’t of the nation’s top athletes. The 247Composite list has him No. 17 overall in the country, No. 5 in Florida and No. 1 at running back.

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