Prior to the Ohio State football team’s first game on August 31st most expected Chase Young would have an outstanding season and be in the hunt for postseason honors. That has certainly been the case and it is appropriate he won the Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award.
That’s because Chase Young plays like ‘The Mad Stork’ did decades ago, just a shorter version. At 6 ft. 5 Young is a couple of inches shorter but he is a big athletic playmaker like the guy the Defensive End of the Year Award is named after. And he plays with the same attitude.
I didn’t have the privilege of watching Ted Hendricks play defensive end in college but I enjoyed watching him play linebacker during his long Hall of Fame NFL career. In fact, I became a fan of his when he was a rookie with the Baltimore Colts.
As an aspiring quarterback, Johnny Unitas was my favorite NFL player so I would watch a Colts’ game whenever I could. While I loved to see Johnny U spin the ball, the Baltimore defense was almost as much fun to watch.
There was a 6 ft. 7 linebacker nicknamed “The Mad Stork” playing beside “The Animal” Mike Curtis in the middle and DE Bubba Smith playing in front of them. There were more outstanding players on the Colts’ defense, which was one of the best in the NFL, but Hendricks stood out.
That was the case after he moved on to the Green Bay Packers and then the Oakland Raiders as well.
Early in his career you could see Hendricks was an energy guy who had a penchant for making the big play, a tackle at a key moment, deflecting a pass or intercepting one. With the exception of pulling down an interception doesn’t that describe the way Chase Young has played all season?
One terrific play among the many Chase Young made this season reminded me of Hendricks as much as any other. He blocked a field goal attempt by the Cincinnati Bearcats in Game 2.
Hendricks was known for blocking extra points and field goals and knocked down 25 during his NFL career. The Mad Stork didn’t take plays off and neither does Young.
That intensity certainly contributed to the Ohio State DE winning the Bronco Nagurski Award as the Defensive Player of the Year in college football.
It’s hard to say if the Chase Young will go on to have an NFL Hall of Fame career like Ted Hendricks. But if he continues to play like the Mad Stork did in the pros it’s possible. At the very least, he will be a fun guy to watch play on Sundays.