Spencer: Mistake shouldn't cost Young a Heisman bid
In a time when there is more focus on college athletes being exploited, Young's mistake shouldn't be viewed too harshly
Spencer: Mistake shouldn't cost Young a Heisman bid In a time when there is more focus on college athletes being exploited, Young's mistake shouldn't be viewed too harshly Check out this story on mansfieldnewsjournal.com: https://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/story/sports/2019/11/12/spencer-young-still-rates-heisman-attention/2560010001/
Jon Spencer, Mansfield News Journal Published 2:25 p.m. ET Nov. 12, 2019
Absent their leader, Chase Young, Ohio State defensive linemen Davon Hamilton (53) and Zach Harrison (33) celebrate one of the Buckeyes' seven sacks in last Saturday's 73-14 rout of Maryland. (Photo: Joe Maiorana/USA TODAY Sports)
In an ironic twist, former teammate Joe Burrow could be the only quarterback Chase Young can't chase down, at least before Heisman Trophy balloting closes.
In the race to win the Heisman as college football's best player, the ex-Buckeye-turned-LSU-quarterback may have thrown up an impenetrable road block behind him with his performance in Saturday's 46-41 win over Alabama.
Burrow completed 31 of 39 passes, threw for three touchdowns and accounted for 457 yards as LSU beat 'Bama for the first time in eight years.
Thanks in part to LSU's resume and also to Burrow completing nearly 80% of his passes, with 33 TDs to only 4 interceptions, he was the front-runner even before he tamed the Tide.
And just when it looked like Young was going to apply pressure and boost his candidacy by being the defensive star on the nation's most complete team, he, well ...
Sacked himself.
Many feel Young's Heisman hopes died when Ohio State sat him last Saturday against Maryland while school officials and the NCAA try to sort out the severity of a violation he committed last year. He admittedly took a loan from a "family friend" that he repaid in full this past April.
It has been reported that the loan was to cover his girlfriend's air fare to the Rose Bowl. The size of the loan could determine the weight of Young's punishment, with popular opinion figuring his suspension will be anywhere from one to four games.
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While we wait to see when Young will play again, or if he will play again, he's apparently out of the Heisman derby. No player, exclusively on defense, has ever won the Heisman, making him a long-shot anyways.
That's too bad.
Young was having a transcendent year, setting the tone for a defense that in one year has gone from historically bad to astonishingly good. Even missing last week's game, he still leads the nation in sacks with 13.5.
For the second straight week, Young was No. 2 on the three-man Heisman ballot I submitted for USA Today's weekly straw poll, behind Burrow and ahead of Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts who, even compared to Burrow, is putting up video game numbers as a passer and runner.
I am one of 21 Heisman electors who work for USA Today properties and participate in the poll. Burrow is the unanimous No. 1 this week. Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields has moved into the No. 3 slot in the poll behind Hurts.
Young was gaining traction in the survey until last week. This week he got one second place vote (mine) and one third place nod.
I decided not to penalize him, especially if it turns out, however unlikely, that Maryland is the only game he misses. I don't see Young's mistake as an egregious error, not in a time when there's a lot of focus on changing a landscape where college athletes are exploited while everyone around them makes millions, hand over fist.
If anything, he comes off as a sympathetic figure.
This isn't 2013 when Heisman candidate Jameis Winston had sexual assault accusations hanging over him. He won the trophy that year, by the way.
An airline ticket? We're not talking about someone funding Young's ability to drive around campus in a Mercedes.
Ohio State defensive end Chase Young celebrates with fans after recording four sacks in a 38-7 win over Wisconsin. (Photo: Joe Maiorana/USA TODAY Sports)
So, no, I'm not ready to penalize Young. Yet. If he misses a second game it gets tougher because you've only got 12 or, counting a conference championship game, 13 chances to impress Heisman voters.
You miss two of 12 games, that's one-sixth of the season. Fortunately for Young, if his suspension is only two games, he'll have at least two marquee games left (Penn State and Michigan) to make his case and maybe the Big Ten Championship Game as well.
We're hearing the Heisman race is over, that Burrow has already won it. Fields, maybe even tailback J.K. Dobbins, could still have something to say about that for Ohio State with so many big games left. And why not Young?
If he's back in time for the Penn State game and is half as good the rest of the way as he was the last time out against Wisconsin (four sacks, five tackles for loss, two forced fumbles), that would be a strong finish for Young, who is No. 1 on Mel Kiper's 2020 NFL Draft Big Board.
When Ohio State lost Nick Bosa after three games last year, it was Young who stepped up and made 10.5 sacks despite being hobbled by two bad ankles. This year, for however long Young is out, it looks like the Buckeyes are ready to respond with a rescue committee.
At times last week, they deployed linebacker Baron Browning as an edge rusher and tight end Rashod Berry at defensive end in a 3-4 wrinkle.
Granted, it was only Maryland, but five different players, included Young's freshman replacement, Zach Harrison, and sophomore end Tyreke Smith, accounted for seven sacks in a 73-14 rout of the Terps.
That was OSU's way of telling the nation it's moving ahead with plans to win a national championship, with or without Young.
With him, against the kind of quarterbacks (Burrow?) the Buckeyes would see in the playoffs, seems imperative.
Even without him, Young factored in last week's outcome, because the linemen have all watched him and grown through osmosis.
"I've learned so much from Chase," Harrison said. "He's a technician. I don't know if you all see it as much, but Chase really studies the game. He watches more film than anybody on the D line. He knows all the tendencies and his technique is always good."
I don't need a lot of convincing, Zach. Young should still be a strong Heisman contender. That's my two cents ... and he doesn't even need to repay me.
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