Elite 4-star RB Rueben Owens commits to Louisville

El Campo (Texas) four-star running back Rueben Owens has shocked the recruiting world and spurned the in-state powers of Texas and Texas A&M to commit to Louisville.

Owens is the No. 33 overall recruit and No. 2 running back in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

He joins a rising 2023 Cardinals class that already has Los Alamitos (Calif.) four-star wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. and Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco four-star quarterback Pierce Clarkson.

On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power ranked Owens as one of the top players the high-profile OT7 tournament earlier this month. He was the only running back to make the top 10.

“Rueben Owens makes this list due to the skills he showed as a pass-catching threat over the weekend in Las Vegas,” Power said. “As we noted in the prior Top Performer pieces, Owens flashed a receiving skill set that would be considered elite for a running back prospect. The El Campo (Texas) High standout lined up at receiver for Premium LA and made sound outstanding highlight catches over several days at OT7. His quarterback play was probably not as consistent as some other skill players, but Owens still made plays. We saw him make a one-handed catch on a back shoulder route, extend for a toe-tapping touchdown in the end zone and make a nice catch over his outside shoulder. Owens will bring some real versatility to the table at the next level as a receiving threat out of the backfield.”

He currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $184k. The On3 NIL Valuation is an index that looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.