One of the greatest players in Ohio State football history is headed to the NFL.
Junior defensive end Chase Young just announced that he will forego his final season of eligibility and enter his name in the 2020 NFL Draft.
James 1:17… Buckeye For Life…✌?❤️ pic.twitter.com/symHLRRuCB
— CY2 (@youngchase907) January 3, 2020
Young is widely expected to be a top-5 pick.
He leaves OSU off of a season when he recorded 21 tackles for loss and a school-record 16.5 sacks.
Young finishes his career with 30.5 sacks, the second-most in Buckeye history behind Mike Vrabel’s 36.
He arrived at OSU in the fall of 2017 as the latest in a string of 5-star defensive end prospects, following Joey and Nick Bosa.
Young quickly made his mark on the program with 5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks as a true freshman.
In his sophomore season of 2018, Young was hampered by injuries to both ankles late in the year. He still recorded 10.5 sacks including two in a comeback road win over Penn State and three in the Big Ten Championship Game against Northwestern.
His final year was his most dominant. Young tied the school record with four sacks in a regular season win over Wisconsin, and added three more against Penn State.
By mid-October, he was on pace to break the official NCAA single-season sack record of 24, set by Terrell Suggs of Arizona State in 2002. And could have challenged the unofficial mark of 27 by Derrick Thomas in 1988 for Alabama.
However, Young was suspended for two games for accepting a loan during his sophomore season. That caused him to miss the Maryland and Rutgers games.
Late in the year, Young’s production trailed off as teams made stopping him their top priority. He had a total of 8 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in the Buckeyes’ final three games.
With Young now gone, the Buckeyes will have to replace three of their four starters along the defensive line. Defensive tackles Jashon Cornell and DaVon Hamilton, as well as top backup Robert Landers all played their final season in 2019.