Getty Image / Zach Bolinger
Ohio State’s Chase Young has been the most dominant defensive player in college football this season and it’s not even close, really. The fact that he was named a Heisman Trophy finalist as a defensive player should prove just how impressive he is on the field seeing as how rare it is to see defensive players get invited to New York for the trophy ceremony.
Young is just a junior, however, so he does have to make the decision to either enter the 2020 NFL Draft or return to Ohio State for his senior season. While the decision seems like an absolute no-brainer for him to forgo his senior season and enter the NFL Draft, where he’s projected to be a top-three pick, it doesn’t sound like it’s a guarantee.
TMZ caught up with Young in the streets of New York and asked him if he was returning to school and he said ‘that’s the plan’ while also emphasizing that he wasn’t focusing on the NFL Draft.
It’s probably a safe bet to assume that this is Young simply saying the ‘right thing’ seeing as how his Buckeyes have a College Football Playoff semi-final game coming up, but nevertheless, he did say the plan, for now, is to return to school.
It’s worth noting that this is far from some sort of concrete statement from Young, the kid is walking around a rainy Manhattan being filmed by TMZ hours away from possibly winning a Heisman Trophy.
Young led the nation in sacks with 16.5 on the year to go along with 44 total tackles and a whopping six forced fumbles.
He’s in store for a massive payday as a top pick in the NFL Draft, but only if he elects to go that direction, which he absolutely should. His stock will never be higher than it is right now and I for one have heard that football is somewhat of a physical game and if he returns to Ohio State he’ll risk getting hurt causing his Draft stock to possibly drop.
We’re also talking about a guy that has gotten into some trouble with the NCAA. Forgoing your senior season, possibly going No. 1 overall and cashing in on a big payday sounds like a pretty solid plan, but Young will do what Young’s got to do.