The three dumbest suspensions in Ohio State Football history
By Ryan Stano
Suspensions are never fun to deal with. Whether you are a player, coach, or administrator, suspensions are a bad look. It means that you got caught doing something wrong, or that you were perceived to have done something wrong. That’s certainly true for the Ohio State football team.
But not every suspension is good or fair. On the day that we learn Deshaun Watson is getting suspended for just six games despite the litany of lawsuits he’s faced for various incidents regarding massage therapists, I thought it was a good time to look at some dumb Ohio State suspensions.
In these specific cases, the suspensions were stupid for either their length or the fact that they happened at all. I came up with three suspensions that I think were the dumbest in Ohio State football history for one reason or another. Most of these are relatively recent though.
One of my first thoughts looking back at all of this is how stupid it was for these players to get suspended for what they did. The punishment certainly did not fit the crime. That’s one of the problems with the NCAA and why college football will likely separate from them soon.
My first pick on this list is also the most recent suspension that was a big deal for the Buckeyes and possibly cost this player an outside shot at the Heisman Trophy.
Ohio State football team loses Chase Young for two games in 2019
Chase Young was the dominant player on the Ohio State football team in 2019. He’s the best player I’ve ever seen play at the program and had one of the best seasons in program history in 2019. That year, he set the single-season record for sacks and was a Heisman Finalist.
Young did all of that despite having to sit out two games in that 2019 season. The NCAA suspended him for receiving a loan from a family friend. Despite repaying the loan in full over the summer before the season even started, Young missed two games.
This was a stupid suspension for multiple reasons. One, he freaking repaid the loan! It’s not a benefit if it’s something he pays back. It makes no sense that he can’t get some cash up front and then he repays it at a later date. Any normal student can do that without an issue.
Two, it looks very stupid now with the NIL rules in full effect. This would not be an issue in today’s landscape of college football because he wouldn’t have needed that family friend to loan him money in the first place. He’d have a boatload of cash.
What made this suspension extra spicy is the fact that it was rumored that Maryland coach Mike Locksley was the guy who leaked the information to the NCAA. Young ended up missing that game, but Ohio State still smashed them into oblivion.
The next stupid suspension on this list is actually a suspension this person deserved, but the reasoning behind it is why it was dumb.