In Craig Young, Kansas football adds Ohio State transfer ‘looking for that fresh start’

By Zac Boyer     Feb 8, 2022

Ohio State linebacker Craig Young, top, and linebacker Steele Chambers, bottom, tackle Purdue receiver TJ Sheffield during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Once Craig Young decided to transfer from Ohio State in December, he knew he didn’t want to make the same mistake twice.

Young was considered one of the top high school football prospects in Indiana and was pursued by several top Big Ten programs before he committed to play for the Buckeyes in June 2018.

But he never felt truly comfortable in Columbus, even though he played in 26 games over three seasons. His role changed, his confidence eroded and he felt lost.

He needed people he knew he could trust. That’s when he turned to Derrick Moore, his football coach at Wayne High School in Fort Wayne, Ind., and Brock Caraboa, a family friend who was a defensive analyst at Kansas.

Within 10 days of leaving Ohio State, Young had decided to join the Jayhawks.

“Trust is big for him, and I know he trusts Coach Caraboa’s opinion,” said Moore, a longtime friend of Young’s father, Shabaka, and his godfather. “I think after he made it to Kansas, he was pretty set.”

Young, who has three seasons of eligibility remaining, is one of eight players who decided to transfer to Kansas in the last two months. The Jayhawks will count on him to help them be more explosive on defense, as he’s expected to assume a hybrid outside linebacker/safety role similar to the one he held for much of his time at Ohio State.

He never played more than 26 snaps in a game for the Buckeyes, according to Pro Football Focus, but he had two interceptions in his three seasons, including one he returned 70 yards for a touchdown against Maryland in October.

Ohio State tried to get him on the field late in the season as more of a traditional strong safety, but Young played just six snaps in the 42-27 defeat at Michigan on Nov. 27, solidifying his decision to leave.

“He’s a long, good-looking, athletic linebacker,” Kansas coach Lance Leipold said. “He’s looking for that fresh start and rededicating himself to getting himself to the fullest of his potential.”

Leipold told a story about an unnamed coach who once saw Young participate in a camp for high school prospects at Ohio State.

After Young made it known he was transferring to Kansas, that coach reached out to Leipold and told him Young’s workout was among the best he had ever seen.

“He’s super talented,” said Moore, who believes Young, who is 6-foot-3 and 223 pounds, could have earned a Division I basketball scholarship if he so wanted. “He’s super gifted. He has all the measurables. He’s fast. He’s tall. He’s big. … He’s also a good kid. He’s humble. But in high school, he dominated everything.”

Although linebackers coach Chris Simpson handled Young’s recruitment to Kansas, Caraboa’s relationship with Young helped. Caraboa recruited Fort Wayne in the past, and his uncle Steve Tutsie gave Moore his first high school coaching opportunity.

Late last month, Caraboa was named the defensive coordinator at Tiffin, a Division II school in Ohio. Moore said that won’t matter too much to Young, however, because Shabaka Young reminded his son why he chose Kansas: the opportunity to play more often and because the Jayhawks appear to be on the rise.

That’s a different situation than the one he walked into at Ohio State, which reached the College Football Playoff in Young’s first two seasons. That may mean he will achieve a different result.

“I think he kind of got lost in the shuffle, which is easy to do over at Ohio State,” Moore said. “But he’s the ultimate competitor. … Having coached him in high school, we would have super competitive practices based on his attitude. He wouldn’t let it just be a mundane regular-old practice. Every drill, every scrimmage, every one-on-one, was super competitive. A super-talented kid, ultra competitive and a great teammate.”

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