Jeremy Larkin Decommits from Cincinnati; Commits to Northwestern

Between a Bearcats loss on the hardwood against Xavier and a Cincinnati Bengals loss to Pittsburgh with Andy Dalton fracturing his thumb, it's been a rough week for the city of Cincinnati.

Well, it just got a little worse.

Three-star running back Jeremy Larkin has officially decommitted from the Cincinnati Bearcats, in favor of the Northwestern Wildcats. The product of La Salle High School has been a Cincinnati hard verbal since mid-summer, but there were rumblings, as of late, that the local star was going to take his talents to the Chicago area.

#NU #Wildcats #NUSquad16 pic.twitter.com/LBCPPi5IQB

— JEREMY LARKIN (@DEUCE__8) December 13, 2015

The move shouldn't be an overwhelming surprise really. Larkin was already the prized recruit for the Bearcats 2016 class before he led La Salle to their second straight State Title just weeks ago. Even with his verbal commitment earlier this year, you knew Larkin was going to draw more attention from bigger schools throughout the process, which were going to make the decision harder and harder for the high school senior. Not to mention, Northwestern has been heavily involved in Larkin's recruitment from the very beginning.

As far as how both parties move forward, we begin with Larkin. Larkin is a very, very good player and can't be faulted for making his own decision to commit to Northwestern where I expect to see him contribute over his next four years.

As for Cincinnati, they return to the drawing board, although it really isn't as bad as you might think. The 2016 class, in terms of running backs, is a little more bare with Larkin going elsewhere. Gerrid Doaks, the only back in the class right now, is a talented three-star running back himself, although he is expected to slide outside to receiver when he comes to campus. Still, the 2015 class is ripe with talent with Taylor Boose and Joshuwa Holloman both checking out as three-star recruits. Also keep in mind that Mike Boone will be a junior next year while Tion Green will be a senior. Chad Banschbach will also be a junior. The point is Cincinnati actually has a great deal of depth at the running back position and will certainly be fine without Larkin, although his talent in the Bearcats offense could have been terrifying.

The city of Cincinnati has had a rough weekend and Larkin pulling his commitment certainly can be a tough pill to swallow. Still, the Bearcats have the running back depth to bounce back. Here at Down the Drive, we wish Larkin the best of luck and look forward to watching him compete on Saturdays in the coming years.