Buckeyes linebacker Craig Young enters transfer portal
COLUMBUS — Craig Young worked his way on the field in a limited role this season for Ohio State.
He’s now searching for a new home to find a more expansive role in a defense.
The defensive hybrid weapon entered the transfer portal Saturday, the third Ohio State player to do so in the last week.
Young will have three years of eligibility remaining wherever he decides to continue his collegiate career.
Young, a former three-star defender from Fort Wayne, Indiana, used his size and athleticism to make a push in his three-year stint at Ohio State, but he could never carve out a full-time role during his time with the Buckeyes, even after three seasons in the program.
“I think he’s finding a role he feels more comfortable with,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said of Young earlier this season. “His ability to come into the box, but then also line up at safety, he can do multiple things there. That’s exciting for us. He can cover, he can play in the box, he can be physical, he can blitz.”
Young’s traits made him an enticing recruit bursting with potential, and the Buckeyes were working to find ways to best utilize his skillset. He appeared in eight games this season, and he was in on certain packages in big moments for the Buckeyes defense at key times late in the season.
He finishes his Ohio State career with 23 total tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.
The versatile weapon made an impact from time to time in a limited role for the Buckeyes over the last three years. But he could never truly find a home in the Ohio State defense.
Now he’ll try to have a bigger role in a different defense.
