Ohio State Football: Young is now another legend to win Bronko Nagurski

Chase Young brought home a national award for the Ohio State football team as the defensive end earned the Bronko Nagurski Award on Monday.

The best defensive player for the Ohio State football team this season and the best defensive player in the entire country has been defensive end Chase Young. That statement was validated on Monday when he was named the winner of this season’s Bronko Nagurski Trophy, which is given to the country’s best defensive player.

Young certainly deserves that award after he has racked up 16.5 sacks in 11 games for the Buckeyes and has been an absolute game-changer every single week. He also joins a group of legendary players who have won that award and if history means anything, then Young has a chance to have a stellar NFL career.

The Bronko Nagurski Trophy was first awarded in 1993. The winner in 1994 was Warren Sapp who was a seven-time NFL Pro Bowler, a four-time first-team All-Pro selection, and the 1999 NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

A few years later in 1998, Champ Bailey won the award. Bailey was a 12-time Pro Bowler, a three-time first-team All-Pro Selection, and was selected to the NFL 2000s All-Decade team. Then in 2002, Terrell Suggs was named as the winner of the award. Suggs, who currently plays for the Arizona Cardinals, has been a seven-time Pro Bowler and was the 2011 NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

Is that enough proof that Young entered legendary company and could be in store for a great career? If not, I will give you a few more names.

Aaron Donald is considered to be the best player in all of football as he was the 2017 and the 2018 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Donald won the Bronko Nagurski Award in 2013. Additionally, Luke Kuechly is considered to be one of the best linebackers in the NFL as he was the 2013 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Kuechly won the award in 2011.

What is crazy is that Young’s season easily matches up with these guys’ as he has more sacks than Aaron Donald had in 2013, as well as more sacks than the 2017 award winner Bradley Chubb, and the 2016 award winner Jonathan Allen.

Young has probably had the best season for a defensive player in Ohio State football history and it was validated with this award. This award also gives hope that Young will soon be an NFL legend.