Running Back Jeremy Larkin Commits to the Cincinnati Bearcats

Running back Jeremy Larkin is the latest to verbally commit to the Bearcats 2016 recruiting class. After a relatively slow start, the Cincinnati Bearcats 2016 class is shaping up into a solid group of players and Larkin may be the biggest name among them.

I want to say that I am blessed to have officially committed to play football at the University of Cincinnati ⚫️⚪️ pic.twitter.com/flE6VSOkuF

— JEREMY LARKIN (@DEUCE__8) June 14, 2015

The Cincinnati-native (La Salle) is 5-foot-10, weighs in at 180 lbs and is widely considered a three-star recruit who ranks among the top players in Ohio. According to 247Sports, Larkin sports an 86 composite score (a score determined by compiling different rankings from other recruiting databases), placing him 36th in the country at running back and 15th in the state of Ohio overall. 247Sports gives him an 88, ranking him 27th at his position and 18th overall in the state.

Rivals is even higher on Larkin, ranking him as their 7th running back in the country and 15th best player in Ohio. According to Rivals, he ranks at a 5.7 out of 6.1. You can see what that translates to from their rankings below.

The ranking system ranks prospects on a numerical scale from 6.1-4.9.

• 6.1 Franchise Player; considered one of the elite prospects in the country, generally among the nation's top 25 players overall; deemed to have excellent pro potential; high-major prospect


• 6.0-5.8 All-American Candidate; high-major prospect; considered one of the nation's top 300 prospects; deemed to have pro potential and ability to make an impact on college team


• 5.7-5.5 All-Region Selection; considered among the region's top prospects and among the top 750 or so prospects in the country; high-to-mid-major prospect; deemed to have pro potential and ability to make an impact on college team


• 5.4-5.0 Division I prospect; considered a mid-major prospect; deemed to have limited pro potential but definite Division I prospect; may be more of a role player


• 4.9 Sleeper; no Rivals.com expert knew much, if anything, about this player; a prospect that only a college coach really knew about

Larkin has a number of offers from other schools including Bowling Green, Boston College, Miami (OH), Northwestern, Ohio and Wake Forest. Big Ten schools such as Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State and Ohio State have been linked to Larkin as well, but haven't extended offers.

On the football field... wow.

Larkin is explosive with the ball in his hands, changes direction well and has great vision. He does a great job of tracking along the offensive line, seeking the hole and then planting his foot and driving up field. When he gets up field, he has breakaway speed and surprising power for a player his size. His vision as a ball-carrier is still his greatest asset though, doing a great job of reading and setting up blocks with his movement. There are certain players that offensive lineman love to block for and Larkin is one of those guys, playing with enough shiftiness to set up defenders for easy blocks. This is a big-time player with big-play potential whenever he touches the ball.

Looking forward for the Bearcats, he is a bit slender right now to be a feature back at the college level. He will likely fit in more as a change-of-pace guy early in his career and then add some bulk in the weight-room. After he adjusts to the college game, specifically in pass protection, we will see him on the field more often than not and then watch out.

This is a huge commitment for the Cincinnati Bearcats if he signs his letter of intent come next spring. He is a local player who will score you touchdowns thanks to his innate ability to read and set up blocks. Additionally, he knows how to eat up yardage with his athleticism. This kid is a playmaker and you can never have too many of those.

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