Young narrows list to six

As he had planned to do for some time, Dedrick Young announced the final six schools alive in his recruitment on Tuesday afternoon. And the party, as it turned out, was a Pac 12/Big 10 soiree.

Michigan State and Nebraska made the cut and joined regional schools UCLA, Arizona State, Arizona and Washington. The Peoria (Ariz.) Centennial running back isn't much for discussing the specific reasons each school made the cut. Instead, he uses broad stokes. He'd rather talk about the his final six have in common.

"I think I just fit in at all these places," Young said. "They all sort of feel like where I belong."

Of the six, Young has visited Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA and Washington. Trips to Michigan State in Nebraska may take place this fall. There's a loose plan for official visits in place for now, even of dates or destinations have not been set. It seems the Arizona-based Young will start out of state and work his way homeward.

So goes the current thought process, anyway.

"I don't have officials yet, but I plan on taking a few during the season," Young said. "I'll probably take out-of-state ones first. With the two local schools, it depends. I'll obviously take my out-of-state ones, then I'll visit ASU and U of A if I feel like I need to. If I visit them, those will probably be the last ones if anything."

But the way Young plans to attack the final stretch of his recruitment leaves little time for last-minute travel. His decision won't come on signing day or even during a January all-star game. The timetable at work here id decidedly more aggressive.

"I'm trying to have my choice before this football season ends," Young said. "I feel like I should be able to do that after some visits."

According to Young, the coaching staffs at Arizona, UCLA, Washington Nebraska have been recruiting him the hardest as of late. So while he understands why some might be shocked that Nebraska, the last school to offer him a scholarship, found its way onto his list of finalists, he says it didn't happen by default. It's actually quite the opposite.

"Nebraska did really good recruiting me late," Young said. "They just did a really good job. After I did my research on them and talked to them, I decided I really liked them."

As a junior at Centennial a season ago, Young ran for 1,696 yards and 17 touchdowns. He is capable of playing either running back or linebacker at the next level and says he has no preference when it comes to his college position.