BLOOMINGTON – A funny thing happened to Logan Young on his way to being a standout basketball player. He scrapped the sport in favor of football, and Indiana is set to reap the benefits now that Young has orally committed to Bill Lynch's program.

At 6-5 and 190 pounds, this Delta High School product has the size, athleticism and background of another basketball-player-turned-football-standout, Elmhurst's James Hardy, who earned All-America honors as a Hoosier before moving on to the NFL's Buffalo Bills.

Young, who has a best of 6-10 in the high jump and runs a 4.59-second 40-yard dash, caught 42 passes for 1,079 yards and 12 touchdowns last season.

Young played on a Spiece-sponsored AAU basketball team before concentrating on football last year. He committed to the Hoosiers after attending an IU football camp earlier this month.

Young is one of seven players to orally commit to the Hoosiers, six in the last few weeks. He's the second in-state player to commit, joining Plymouth's Leneil Himes, a tight end/defensive end. IU's renovation to Memorial Stadium – the project is set to be completed by the end of July – was among the reasons why Himes chose Indiana.

The other commitments are defensive ends Ryan Phillis and Jibreel Black of Ohio, running backs Xavier Whitaker of Wisconsin and Antonio Banks of Ohio, and defensive back Andre Kates of New York.

Black is the most highly touted newcomer. The 6-2, 253-pounder from Wyoming High School in Cincinnati is rated as the nation's 16th best defensive lineman by Scout.com, a national Internet recruiting service. He's rated 23rd by Rivals.com, another national Internet recruiting service.

IU beat out Michigan, Michigan State, Cincinnati and Kentucky for Black, whose older brother, Larry, is a redshirt freshman defensive tackle for the Hoosiers.

As a junior Phillis played linebacker and totaled 135 tackles. As a senior he's set to play at defensive end, his likely position in college.

Versatility is Whitaker's strength. As a running back, he rushed for 872 yards and 12 touchdowns on 116 carries last season.

This season he likely will play some quarterback, wide receiver and safety.


Scout.comlisted him as the nation's No. 71 running back prospect. Rivals.com didn't rate him at all.

Banks is another versatile back. He rushed for 944 yards and 12 touchdowns in 10 games last season. He also caught 13 passes for 113 yards.

Kates is the fastest commitment with a 4.4-second 40-yard dash. He's also the oldest as he's entering his second year of junior college after sitting out two years after high school. As a freshman at Erie Community College Kates had 49 tackles and three interceptions.

Kates calls his commitment to IU “soft” because he's also considering offers from Oklahoma State, UCLA and Texas Tech. He originally committed to Florida coming out of high school.