Ashton Youboty has one sister and two brothers. He was born in Liberia and moved to Philadelphia when he was four years old. Eight years later he moved to Klein, Texas where he attended Klein High School. Ashton played defensive back on the football team and was a long jumper for the track team. As a sophomore, Ashton averaged 10 yards per return as a punt returner. As a senior he totaled 60 tackles and 3 interceptions. He was highly recruited particularly in the big ten and became the first player from Texas to sign with Ohio State since David Boston. He saw playing time in every game as a true freshman in 2003 but was primarily a backup to former first round pick and current Carolina Panther Chris Gamble. Youboty finished with 14 tackles on the year. As a sophomore, Ashton started nine games after Dustin Fox broke his arm. He finished with 61 tackles and tied for a conference high 4 interceptions. He also broke up 14 passes on the year. Ashton was named honorable mention all big ten for his play as a sophomore. As a junior, Ashton’s stats were down a bit due to teams throwing away from him. He finished with 56 tackles, 1 interception and 9 pass break-ups on the season. Ashton still has another year of eligibility left but he opted to leave school early to enter the 2006 NFL draft.

Ashton Youboty has a good combination of size and athleticism for a cornerback. He has good height but he is a little thin and may benefit from bulking up and increasing his strength. Ashton has good speed, fluid hips, and great ball skills. He plays the ball well when it’s in the air and has soft hands. His size and speed allows him to matchup well against most receivers and he rarely gets beat deep. In addition to being a good cover guy, Ashton is a good run defender and a sure tackler. He also has the ability to contribute on special teams as a return specialist. He is an intelligent player and a hard worker who spends a lot of time studying film. Ashton has less than two full years of experience as a starter and is still a bit raw. He has yet to reach his full potential and he does have some upside. He will try to follow in the footsteps of former Buckeye cornerbacks like Shawn Springs, Antoine Winfield, Nate Clements, and Chris Gamble who were all high picks in the NFL draft. He should be a first day pick in April.