Ohio State Football: Chase Young still deserves Heisman consideration
By David Wysong
Ohio State football’s Chase Young had pretty much been taken out of the Heisman race, but it is time to put his name back into consideration.
When Ohio State football’s defensive end Chase Young received his suspension due to an NCAA violation, almost every sportsbook lowered his Heisman chances drastically or even took him completely off their board, according to The Action Network.
At the time he had 13.5 sacks, which was still second in the FBS before Saturday despite missing those two games, and was coming off a four-sack performance against Wisconsin.
Well, Young made his return in a top-10 matchup against Penn State on Saturday and it is time to put his name back in the race.
In a 28-17 win for the Buckeyes, Young got his redemption as he had nine total tackles, four tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and three sacks. He also set the Ohio State single-season sack record during the game.
Holy moly that guy is unreal.
The Heisman Trophy is never awarded to a defensive player, which I think is a shame, but it should be awarded to the best overall player. This is what it says on Heisman.com.
"The winners of the trophy epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard work."
Well, let me tell you something – Chase Young epitomizes great ability, diligence, perseverance and hard work.
Not only does he have 16.5 sacks on the season and is in on almost every play for the Ohio State defense, but he also works hard at what he does.
Not only has he perfected his craft of getting to the quarterback, raising his sack total each year he’s played, he has also transformed his body which has, in turn, made him the great player he is today. As a recruit, 247Sports listed him as 251 pounds. Since then he has gained about 14 pounds of pure muscle as Ohio State has him listed at 265 pounds.
Next. Buckeyes faced adversity, proved to be 4 quarter team. dark
This Ohio State defense is good without Young on the field, but it is elite when he is on the field. I get that LSU quarterback Joe Burrow has had a legendary season and so has Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts and even Buckeye QB Justin Fields, but it is hard to find someone who makes as much of a difference for his team as Chase Young does.