Ohio State's Chase Young poses big problems for 'good old Penn State'

When news first broke earlier this month that Ohio State’s Chase Young faced a suspension for taking a loan from a family friend in violation of NCAA rules, there was a bit of conjecture about how long the punishment would last.

Judging by his comments this week, Penn State coach James Franklin had a pretty strong feeling all along about when Young would be reinstated.

“Obviously, Chase Young is back just in time for good old Penn State,” Franklin said at his weekly news conference Tuesday, practically rolling his eyes.

It’s easy to see why Franklin would just as soon Young’s return be the problem of good old Michigan next week or a good old bowl opponent weeks down the line.

Young is perhaps the most dominant defensive player in the country, a wrecker of offensive gameplans from Madison to Evanston and everywhere in between.

“Obviously, as impressive of a player on tape in the country,” Franklin said. “Before the games he missed, people were talking about him for the Heisman and things like that. He jumps off the tape at you.”

Young, a 6-foot-5, 265-pound junior from DeMatha Catholic in Maryland, has 13.5 sacks in eight games this season, one-half sack off the Ohio State record set by Vernon Gholston in 2007.

As the season has progressed, the Buckeyes have begun to move Young around the formation to make it harder for opponents to prepare for his onslaught.

That development was a nightmare for Wisconsin in Young’s last outing before the two-game suspension Oct. 26. He had five tackles for loss, tied an Ohio State single-game record with four sacks and forced two fumbles in a 38-7 victory.

“Chase is going to make plays. That’s going to happen,” Franklin said. “We need to limit the impact that he has in the game. They’re smart because if you leave him at the same position the entire game, it allows you to have a plan and know where he’s going to be with a lot more confidence. Where if you move him around, it makes it a little bit more challenging.

“There’s no doubt on every play, we need to know where he’s at and account for him. There’s no doubt about it. We will definitely do that.”

In the unlikely event Penn State contains Young, the No. 8 Nittany Lions will still have a bevy of talented defensive playmakers to contend with as they try, as 19-point underdogs, to upend the No. 2 Buckeyes.

Linebacker Malik Harrison is a punishing tackler. Both starting cornerbacks, Jeffrey Okudah and Shaun Wade, could be first-round picks in the NFL Draft.

The Buckeyes are first in the nation in scoring defense (9.8 points per game) and total defense (246.4 yards per game) and second in sacks (4.2 per game, behind only Pitt’s 4.5 per game).

“There are athletes everywhere on the field, on the defense,” Penn State tight end Pat Freiermuth said. “Whenever they sub, bring in new personnel, they don’t skip a beat. They’re fast, explosive. They definitely have some strength everywhere on the field.”

Running on Ohio State seems to be a largely futile endeavor. The Buckeyes lead the nation in rush defense, allowing 90.4 yards per game.

For the Nittany Lions to have any success, they’ll probably need a big game from quarterback Sean Clifford, something like the performance Trace McSorley delivered in a 27-26 Penn State loss last year. He threw for 286 yards, including a 93-yard scoring strike to KJ Hamler, and also ran for 175 yards.

“They’re not going to give up a lot of explosive or chunk plays,” Clifford said. “You’re going to have to dice them up from a different perspective.”