Three-Star 2023 OL Cooper Young Commits to West Virginia

Three-star 2023 offensive lineman Cooper Young (6-foot-5, 300-pounds) committed to West Virginia earlier today.

Young comes from Downington West High School in Downington, Pennsylvania. He took his official visit this past weekend, so the commitment came right on the spot.

COMMITTED‼️🟡🔵 #TrustTheClimb @NealBrown_WVU @CoachMooreWVU @CoachHarrellWVU @KirkBarron73 pic.twitter.com/SiihzGftLh

— Cooper Young (@CooperYoung44) June 12, 2022

Young is a three-star recruit on all three major recruiting services: 247Sports, Rivals and On3. He is consistently rated around the No. 23 spot for Pennsylvania recruits with 247Sports and On3 putting him at No. 23 and Rivals putting him at No. 20.

As far as national rankings go, he’s not included in Rivals top 1,000 but lands at 973 for 247Sports and 940 for On3. For interior offensive lineman, he’s ranked at No. 72 for 247Sports and No. 100 for On3. Rivals has him highest at No. 28, but that doesn’t include centers and only focuses on offensive guards.

He had five other offers besides West Virginia. He’s been offered by Kent State, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Virginia. Rivals listed Penn State as also showing interest, but he has not yet been offered by that school.

The commitment is head coach Neal Brown’s eighth of the class of 2023 which includes consensus four-star wide receiver Rodney Gallagher and 247Sports three-stars defensive back Josiah Jackson, linebacker James Heard Jr., linebacker Josiah Trotter, running back Jaheim White and defensive lineman Cameron Jackson. Trotter and Heard are listed as four stars on Rivals.

Young becomes the eighth recruit instead of the ninth, due to cornerback Cameron Calhoun de-committing approximately a week ago.

The class clearly showcases a lot of depth, with not a single recruit being rated lower than a three-star. It is currently rated as the No. 19 class on both Rivals and 247Sports, and the No. 27 class on On3. Though those rankings will certainly change prior to national signing day.

A big reason for the current high ranking is due to the quantity of recruits. Only 20 programs have more recruits committed at this stage and common college football recruiting powerhouses such as Alabama, LSU, Michigan and Texas are rated lower for having less total recruits and despite having more four and five star recruits.

Still though, the fact that West Virginia is currently rated higher than Florida State, who has three four-star recruits signed up and eight total, shows the depth of the class that West Virginia is bringing in.

While the lack of consensus four and five stars in comparison to some of the nation’s premier programs will likely push West Virginia out of the top 25 prior to signing day, the amount of high-floor guys being brought in by Brown should be viewed as nothing but a positive for the future of the program.