The biggest story leading up to this weekend’s game is against Rutgers is about a player who might not appear in the game.
Ohio State junior defensive end Chase Young’s status for this game and beyond is still up in the air.
OSU is still awaiting word from the NCAA on if and when Young will be allowed to return to the field. He sat out the Maryland game after it came out that he had accepted a loan from a person he described as a family friend.
Young has said that he paid the loan back, which is generally one of the precursors to returning to the field.
Now, he’s sitting in NCAA limbo, waiting to hear if he can play this weekend, next weekend, or if he’ll need to wait longer than that.
Tuesday, OSU head coach Ryan Day said he did not have any update on Young’s status. The Buckeyes are still waiting to hear the verdict from Indianapolis, just as their fanbase is.
“I don’t have any update for you right now. Just an ongoing process right now. Certainly when I have and we have more information, we’ll let you know. There’s really nothing I can talk about at this point,” Day said.
However, the Buckeyes aren’t just sitting around on their hands. Day said Young is practicing with the team this week, and preparing as if he’ll be on the field this Saturday.
“We’re going to prepare for him to be back this week. He’ll practice this week. Once we find out more information, we’ll go from there,” Day said.
In the meantime, Young is working closely with the younger players who are filling in during his absence.
Junior CB Jeff Okudah said that Young has been active during practices, assisting the young defensive ends.
“For him to be available, they’ve been using him as a great resource,” Okudah said.
Young is currently sitting at 13.5 sacks, just a half-sack shy of Vernon Gholston’s OSU single-season record.
He tied the school’s single-game record with four sacks against Wisconsin in his most-recent game action.