Yahoo Lifestyle Ohio State star Chase Young to miss one more game, return vs. Penn State
No. 2 Ohio State will have Chase Young back on the field for the Penn State and Michigan games.
The school announced Wednesday that the NCAA concluded its review into Young, Ohio State’s star defensive end, and concluded that he should be withheld for a second game — Saturday’s matchup with Rutgers. However, OSU will have Young available when it closes out its season against No. 9 Penn State in Columbus on Nov. 23 and in Ann Arbor against No. 14 Michigan on Nov. 30. The game against Penn State will likely decide the Big Ten East champion.
Ohio State held Young out for last week’s game against Maryland when his eligibility came into question, reportedly due to a loan he received (and subsequently repaid) to fly his girlfriend to last year’s Rose Bowl.
Ohio State requested immediate reinstatement for Young, but the NCAA ruled that Young should miss a second game.
“I want to thank and express my sincere gratitude to university staff members who worked so diligently and expertly to learn and understand the facts, and then to report these facts to the NCAA as part of our request to have Chase reinstated. This is the example of the culture of compliance we have at Ohio State,” Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said in a statement.
“I also want to commend Chase Young and let him know how proud we are of him. He took responsibility for his actions, cooperated throughout the process and understood and accepted that there would be consequences. He’s a team captain and a leader and most importantly, a Buckeye. He wanted nothing more than an opportunity to play again and we’re pleased that he’ll get that chance.”
Excited to be back on the field next week! Thank you Buckeye Nation for all the love and support. I’m blessed to be a part of this team, this university, and this community. Lots of love to my family. God Bless and Go Bucks!
— CY2 (@youngchase907) November 13, 2019
Most dominant defensive player in college football
Young has been the most dominant defensive player in college football in 2019. In eight games, the junior has compiled 29 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks. Young, a surefire top-five pick in the NFL draft, burst into the Heisman conversation when he had six tackles, five tackles for loss and four sacks in Ohio State’s win over Wisconsin.
Ohio State, the No. 2 team in the most recent College Football Playoff rankings, was just fine without Young over the weekend in a dominant 73-14 win over Maryland. The undefeated Buckeyes won’t face much resistance from lowly Rutgers this coming weekend either, but they will want their full collection of talent on the field against Penn State and Michigan.
Penn State suffered its first loss of the season last weekend to Minnesota and fell from No. 4 to No. 9, but can get to the Big Ten title game if it wins out. That obviously includes the trip to Columbus, a place PSU has not won since 2011.
A win over Penn State would likely lock up the division for the Buckeyes and put them in excellent position to return to the College Football Playoff. From there, OSU closes out its season against rival Michigan in Ann Arbor. OSU has won 14 of its last 15 in the series.
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