One of the things we like to do here at Buckeyes Wire is debate. We’re good at it, even when we’re wrong. Each Friday, we’ll throw out a topic that seems to be in the news and provide a round table forum of discussion. Sometimes it’ll be two writers, sometimes more. Sometimes it’ll be hotly debated, sometimes more civil.
Heck, sometimes it’ll be outlandish, but it’s fun nonetheless.
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This week, we discuss whether or not Chase Young will be in New York for the Heisman Ceremony in December, and if he has a legitimate shot at winning it all.
Mark Russell, you have the floor first …
Next … Mark Russell’s thoughts
Contact/Follow Mark Russell
First, let’s just get this out there right now… Chase Young is the best player in college football. Which is what the Heisman trophy is supposed to be all about. Sadly, being the best may not be enough.
Young is getting the hype at the right time of the season. Hype too early, and everyone nit picks. Hype too late? Not enough time to sway voters. But right now is the perfect time.
Chase Young dominated a Wisconsin offensive line that most people thought was one of the best, if not the best in the country. And everyone took notice. Young also gets to play in two marquee games to end the season. A potential undefeated Penn State comes to town followed by a trip to Ann Arbor at seasons end. Both will get huge television audiences.
Add in the fact that Joel Klatt, who is quickly becoming one of the most respected voices in college football, is singing Young’s praises? Yeah, I can see Chase Young as a Heisman finalist in New York come December.
Does he have a legitimate shot at winning? Well, I just think there are too many voters who won’t vote for a defensive player. And that’s unfortunate… because Chase Young is worthy of being the first defense only player to win the award.
Next … Brock weighs in
Contact/Follow Brock Netter
On its face, it seems like ridiculous to think a defensive end is in the Heisman race. But once you dive into the numbers and actually really think about it, Chase Young has a real case.
While the number of solo tackles (22) may be low, he has 13.5 sacks, which leads the nation along with five forced fumbles.
Teams gameplan around Young, yet still have no answer for him. The Heisman trophy is about rewarding the most outstanding player, not the most valuable to their team.
Young has a couple things working in his favor as the race heats up.
Ohio State’s schedule is loaded down the stretch. With games against Penn State, TTUN and the Big Ten championship, he’ll have the arguably the three of the biggest games in college football all nationally televised for fans to watch the guy known as ‘The Predator’ make his case.
The other thing is that the Buckeyes are ranked No. 3 in the country, and possess a top five defense led by Young.
Only two defensive ends have won the Heisman trophy: Larry Kelly from Yale in 1936 and Leon Hart from Notre Dame in 1949. Since then though, the narrative of a defensive player winning the thing has changed significantly.
Ohio State is tied with Oklahoma and Notre Dame for most Heisman trophy winners (7). I’m not saying Young is going to win, but if he ends the year with 40 tackles, 22 sacks and eight forced fumbles, he’ll be in New York.
Next … Phil closes the deal
Contact/Follow Phil Harrison
There are times when we agree on this panel, and times when we don’t. Unfortunately for Young, I think we’re pretty much in agreement on this one. It’ll be tough for Young to even get to New York let alone win the thing.
Consider the fact that the only reason Young is being focused on during this “season” of college football is because he had a game for the ages. He’s been disruptive end-to-end so far in 2019, but he got to the quarterback more than any other game, sacking Wisconsin QB Jack Coan four times, and forcing two fumbles.
And yet — He’s only just on the fringe of most Heisman polls.
It would be unrealistic to think Young is going to continue putting up numbers like that going forward. It takes someone that really watches and knows just how disruptive he is without all the stats slapping you in the face. He’ll still have major impact in games, but that won’t be enough.
I say there’s a better chance of him not being in New York than being there, but I don’t see him really coming close to winning the Heisman either way.
Now, the Bednarik on the other hand … we can talk about that.
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