On Monday, Cincinnati running back Gi’Bran Payne became the 14th commitment, the fifth four-star commitment, of what continues to seem like Indiana’s best recruiting class of the 21st Century — maybe of all-time — now ranked 18th in the country.

If Payne’s performance on the field plays out as early indications suggest, he is the real deal. As a sophomore in one of the most prestigious programs in Ohio, Payne received limited carries with a stacked backfield and still managed nearly 800 yards and 13 total touchdowns. That’s enough to earn offers from schools like Alabama, Notre Dame, Florida, Michigan, Penn State and other top schools, as he did before the 2020 season.

But when his workhorse opportunity came during his junior year, his body caved to injuries. He only ran for just over 200 yards. Through no fault of his own, Payne’s recruitment began to trend South, as most prospects’ recruitments do when they can’t perform during their junior years. Given the nature of the 2020 recruiting landscape, it only emphasized this unfortunate truth.

Suddenly, offers were drying up with no way for Payne to prove he is still the same, if not a better running back than he was in 2019. Then, in the last month or so, Indiana and Deland McCullough came knocking. Those are the recruiting moves the Hoosier staff needs to continue to make to inch its way up recruiting boards and maximize talent on the field.

With far less film to evaluate Payne versus other top national running backs, Payne likely became a risk for those schools initially interested, schools who don’t take risks when they don’t need to. Those offers became uncommittable as spots in running back rooms began to go. For the five schools he listed in his top-five in February: Penn State now has two running backs in the class, both rated higher than Payne; Notre Dame has one running back committed but didn’t make Payne a top priority for its potential second spot; Alabama has a five- and a four-star running back committed and also never came close to making Payne a priority for its potential third spot; Florida didn’t invite Payne to its key summer recruiting event that featured at least two other backs; Northwestern, where his 2019 teammate, Cam Porter, signed, was the most likely landing spot of the five.

At this point in the recruiting calendar, if a top program isn’t awaiting an August commitment from a top running back, it’s likely waiting on senior-year tape from other mid-level backs to add to its class closer to the end of the cycle. That is most likely what schools like Alabama and Notre Dame will do if they add more running backs.

That’s where this becomes tricky for Indiana: hanging onto these 2022 commitments, like Payne. It’s already a key focus inside the program to hang onto Florida commits as those native schools eye poaching commitments from Indiana before Signing Day, which will be discussed in a column in the near future. That’s not entirely different for Payne.

It’s easy to see the appeal in Indiana. McCullough, fresh off a stint in the NFL with a stellar resume as Indiana’s running backs coach alone, is back in Bloomington. Indiana continues to develop solid running back talent, such as Stevie Scott and Tim Baldwin, and hit big recruits at the position, such as Sampson James. Look at Tevin Coleman and Jordan Howard playing in the NFL! Facilities continue to improve as there’s more investment from the athletic program. These are all concepts sold to recruits on the trail.

But it happens every cycle, if a recruit had his heart set on a particular school and/or has developed a good relationship with that school and suddenly that school needs to add another player at the position, recruits flip throughout the last fall season of the cycle. The test doesn’t end at the commitment; it ends on Signing Day.

Steering away from the ominous, though, a prospect like Payne is exactly who Indiana should be, and has been, adding to its recruiting classes — recruits whose competing schools leave the door open out of negligence, like Mike Penix, Cam Jones, Matthew Bedford, Kahlil Benson, Tim Baldwin, Bryson Bonds, etc. Even players like Rashawn Williams, who didn’t pan out at Indiana but was a recruit who was squeezed out of offers from schools like Michigan and Ohio State because spots dried up or because they weren't interested but still gave his recruiting profile a boost. They all continue to push the bar upward for Indiana.

Outside of offering another highly talented running back in the room for McCullough, Payne also offers another inch upward for the Hoosiers’ recruiting standard, even if he is considered a risk by other top programs in the country.

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