Ashton Youboty

Youboty is another in a long line of athletic cover cornerbacks to excel in the Buckeyes' secondary in recent years, following the likes of Shawn Springs, Antoine Winfield, Ahmed Plummer, Nate Clements and Chris Gamble. Based on his performance in 2005, he should enjoy similar success as his fellow OSU alumni at the NFL level. Youboty was born in Liberia and moved to Philadelphia when he was four years old. He moved to Texas when he was in eighth grade and attended Klein High School, where he was a standout cornerback. Youboty recorded 60 tackles with three interceptions as a senior. He averaged more than 10 yards per punt return as a junior. He also competed in track, recording a personal-best long jump of 22 feet. He finished second in the 100 and 200-meter dashes at the district track meet as a junior. Youboty enrolled at Ohio State during the 2003 Winter Quarter, participating in spring drills. He played in twelve games behind Chris Gamble as a true freshman that year, producing 14 tackles (13 solos). He started three games at weak-side cornerback and six more on the strong side as a sophomore in 2004. Youboty tied for the Big Ten Conference lead with four interceptions and also deflected fourteen passes. He ranked fifth on the squad with 61 tackles (47 solos), including a sack and three stops for losses. Youboty was awarded first-team All-Big Ten honors in 2005. He helped the team rank fifth nationally in total defense (281.33 ypg) and scoring defense (15.25 ppg) while coming up with 56 tackles (43 solos), ranking fourth on the team. He added one sack, six stops behind the line of scrimmage and a fumble recovery. He blocked a kick, intercepted one pass and deflected nine others. In 36 games at Ohio State, Youboty started 22 times. He was in on 131 tackles (103 solos) with two sacks for minus-8 yards and nine stops for losses of 22 yards. He recovered a fumble and blocked one kick while deflecting 23 passes. He gained 79 yards on five interception returns and also had a 2-yard punt return.

youboty is the latest in a long line of athletically-gifted cornerbacks to perform at ohio state in recent years. he is a fluid open field runner in the ahmed plummer mold, showing the loose hips and explosive burst to give more cushion than usual and then instantly close on the ball. he needs to play his man tighter, as he sometimes takes a false step in transition that slows down his turning motion.

Youboty has good ball skills when he is able to locate it. He is not used much in run force because he lacks the lower body strength to stack and control and will struggle to shed when a bigger blocker latches on. He showed some improvement later in the 2005 season, but does not have the bulk to explode behind his hits.

positives

Has an athletic-looking frame with good height, adequate shoulder thickness, good bubble and knotted calves...Has the quickness to recover from his mistakes, showing good hip flexibility and natural explosion...Has the speed and feet to handle man coverage assignments, staying fluid and efficient in his backpedal...When he recognizes the routes, he breaks on the ball quickly...Plays hard and has the leaping ability to go up and get to the ball at its high point...Has soft hands to make plays on the ball, showing the body control and leaping skills to compete for jump balls...His closing quickness allows him to compensate for peeking too long into the backfield...Plays the receiver tight in zone coverage and has the burst to cover ground when the opponent eats up the cushion... Does a good job of shading the ballcarrier in attempts to fulfill his run force assignment, showing above average catch-up speed and range...Likes to tackle on the side rather than facing up, but has enough hand strength to drag down or hold on until help arrives...Not used much to plug the rush lanes, but fills hard and takes good angles attempting to make the open field tackles.

while youboty is fast to come up and support vs. the run, he lacks the lower body strength and overall bulk to stand up the lead blocker to clog the rush lanes. he needs to use his hands better coming off blocks and still struggles with hand placement when executing his jam technique.

He is a raw prospect who gets by more on athletic ability than technique, much like the player he replaced at OSU, Chris Gamble. He needs to recognize screens quicker, but when he does react vs. the run, he takes good angles in pursuit. With additional strength and more repetitions, he can develop into a solid cover cornerback, but it is doubtful if he will be the physical, shutdown time like another former Buckeye, Nate Clements. For the team's sake that drafts him, let's hope he is not the second coming of Ahmed Plummer.

negatives

Like Chris Gamble, he still relies more on his athletic ability and speed to make the play, as he is late at times recognizing the play develop and will then have to close in a hurry to get back into the action...Has the speed and strength to be a lock-down cornerback, but gambles often and has a tendency to eye the backfield too long, getting beat by the receiver as he fails to recover in time to make the play...Has loose hips to turn and mirror the receiver coming out of his backpedal, but needs to get his head turned around quicker to look the ball in...Lacks the bulk and strength to be effective working in the box and while he can string plays out, he is more of a drag-down tackler who will take a side rather than wrapping to secure...Has problems dealing with the jam technique because of marginal hand placement.

youboty shuffles his feet well to flip his hips, doing a nice job of planting and coming back to make plays on the ball in front of him. in man coverage, he is effective in either shadow or trail technique, but does like to gamble a bit by attacking the ball rather than staying tight on the receiver's hip.

When he is beaten, it is usually on a vertical route. This is due to his penchant for peeking into the backfield too long and he needs to do a quicker job of reading the quarterback. He has the speed to recover, but when he is not challenged, he can get a bit lazy. He also appears to struggle some getting his head turned properly to track the ball in flight.

No injuries reported.

Campus: 4.46 seconds in the 40-yard dash

35.5-inch vertical jump

30 7/8-inch arm length

8 ¾-inch hands. Combine: Did not participate in the individual workouts.

Attended Klein (Tex.) High School

Recorded 60 tackles with three interceptions as a senior

Averaged over 10 yards per punt return as a junior

Led his team to a win over Cy Falls High when he blocked a field goal to send the game into overtime and then an extra-point attempt in overtime to win the game

Also competed in track, recording a personal-best long jump of 22 feet

Finished second in the 100- and 200-meter dashes at the district track meet as a junior.

Finance Management major

Son of John and Jeannet Youboty

Born in Liberia and moved to Philadelphia when he was age four. He then moved to Texas when he was in the eighth grade

Born 7/07/84

Resides in Klein, Texas.