Class Impact: Breaking Down The Commitment Of Kedren Young To Notre Dame

Breaking down what the commitment of running back Kedren Young means for the Notre Dame 2024 recruiting class and the Irish depth chart

Notre Dame dipped back into the state of Texas once again for another impact player, this time landing a commitment from Lufkin (Texas) High School running back Kedren Young. This is a big pickup for the Irish in many ways. Let's take a look at what this commitment means for the Notre Dame 2024 recruiting class and the Fighting Irish depth chart.

NOTRE DAME CLASS IMPACT

Young is the 18th player to commit to Notre Dame in the 2024 recruiting class. He is the ninth offensive recruit to join the class and he joins Missouri star Aneyas Williams as the other running back in the class.

Notre Dame didn't need a second running back when it started to pursue Young due to landing two backs in the 2022 class (Jadarian Price, Gi'Bran Payne), landing big time running back Jeremiyah Love a season ago, and the fact Audric Estime and Logan Diggs had multiple seasons of eligibility remaining. Notre Dame began pushing for Young months ago because of his talent, more than them needing to fill a need.

The odds of one of those two veterans leaving was high, and that happened with Diggs entered the portal this offseason. That combines with the injury to Price and the potential of Estime to also leave after the 2023 season - assuming he had a big year - made landing a second back in the class even more important. 

It was obvious for months that Notre Dame had Young on top of their remaining running back board. Notre Dame landed Williams last summer, and he's an all-around standout that also had over 1,000 yards receiving as a sophomore. Notre Dame clearly wanted to add a bigger, volume type of back in the class, and Young certainly fits that bill.

NOTRE DAME FIT - ANALYSIS

Notre Dame likes landing complementary players, and with Williams being an impact all-around player, they wanted and needed a more physical between the tackles runner. That is exactly what Young brings to the game, but he's more than just a punishing runner, this is a young back that has the ability to rip off big plays as well. He's the perfect complement to Williams by bringing a volume style to the game, with Williams being able to do a little bit of everything. There are plenty of things Notre Dame can do that get Young on the field along with Love or Williams.

Looking specifically at Young, the first thing you'll notice about his game is the physicality. He's listed anywhere from 210 to 220 pounds, and he plays like a bigger back. Young is more than willing to take punishment, but he prefers to dish it out. He runs with impressive pad level and his leg drive is outstanding. He runs through tackles with a nice dip and a high leg kick. Combine that with a thick frame and Young is able to not only pick up the hard yards, he's able to break tackles and maximize yards.

Young is far from just being a hammer, and that's why he grades out as a Top 100 back on the Irish Breakdown board. His size to speed ratio is outstanding, and Young shows on film he is more than capable of turning small creases into home runs. He's got a 95+ yard touchdown run on his docket, and if he gets past the second level he can really go.

I'm also impressed with his feet and balance. Young can certainly hammer vertically on Notre Dame's "Duo" concepts, but he shows an impressive jump cut ability, which fits the Inside Zone concepts and he can bounce "Duo" runs with ease. He accelerates quickly and can plant his foot in the ground and explode vertically through holes. His balance allows him to make cuts and get to full speed, but it also helps him bounce off contact and quickly get moving again.

Young shows the running back traits I want in a back as well, especially a bigger back. He doesn't just bulldoze downhill without purpose. He can certainly explode downhill to pick up tough yards, but Young shows top notch patience when he needs to. He is an efficient player from a technique standpoint, which combines with his patience to put him in position to make good initial reads and then get into the hole.

I don't see much of Young catching or blocker, so that is something I'm not certain of. There are limited snaps of him catching the ball and he looks natural doing it, but they were all checkdown/swing type routes. With his size and power he projects to have the skill to be a strong pass blocker, I just don't get to see him do it much.

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Irish Breakdown Content

2023 Scholarship Chart
2023 Football Schedule

Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

2024 Commit Rankings - Offense
2024 Commit Rankings - Defense

2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense

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