Ohio State’s Chase Young was named the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Lineman of the Year, but it wasn’t unanimous. How? I have no idea.
On Tuesday night, the Big Ten released their coaching, defensive and special teams awards.
Head coach Ryan Day, seven defenders and the Buckeyes’ kicker were all recognized. A day later Justin Fields and others were also shown a myriad of awards including Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year.
That said, Chase Young won the Defensive Player of the Year award. But, somehow it wasn’t a unanimous decision.
After the Big Ten named all their awards, they noted the unanimous selections in all caps. Young’s name, needless to say, was not fully capitalized, signifying that he wasn’t a unanimous selection.
With 38 total tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss and 16.5 sacks, Young has easily been the most dominant defender in the conference. And all those eye-popping stats came with him missing two games due to a suspension surrounding him accepting a small loan.
He put up the team’s single-season sack record and played just ten games. He’ll likely have three more to solidify his claim as a top-three pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
Widely regarded as college football’s best defensive prospect, it’d be interesting to know if Antoine Winfield Jr., who won B1G Defensive Back of the Year, took a vote or two.
Winfield Jr., the Minnesota Golden Gopher, had seven interceptions, the fourth-most in the NCAA. While those were impressive, Winfield isn’t on the same level as Young.
