Former Ohio State Defensive End Chase Young Selected By The Washington Redskins With The No. 2 Pick In The 2020 NFL Draft

Former Ohio State defensive end Chase Young was selected by the Washington Redskins with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft on Thursday night.

A former five-star prospect from Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha Catholic, Young set the Buckeyes’ single-season sack record with a nation-best 16 1/2 sacks in 12 games last fall. And despite a late-season suspension for accepting a loan from a family friend that forced him to miss blowout wins over Maryland and Rutgers, he became the first defensive player since Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o in 2012 to earn a trip to New York City as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.

Young finished fourth behind LSU quarterback Joe Burrow — who was taken by the Cincinnati Bengals with the first overall pick on Thursday night — Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts and Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields. He also won a handful of national awards including the Chuck Bednarik Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy, both of which are given annually to the nation’s bet defensive player, and the Ted Hendricks Award, given annually to the best defensive end in the country.

A unanimous All-American who will also have a tree planted in his honor at Buckeye Grove, Young was also the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and the Chicago Tribune’s Silver Football winner, which honors the conference’s best player as voted on by coaches.

Young finished his college career with 99 tackles, 42 1/2 tackles for loss and 30 1/2 sacks, which trails only former defensive lineman Mike Vrabel, who recorded 36 sacks from 1993-96. He’ll now be reunited with a pair of former teammates in Washington in quarterback Dwayne Haskins and wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who were first- and third-round selections of the Redskins in last year’s draft.

Ohio State, meanwhile, becomes the first school to have a defensive player selected among the first five picks in three consecutive drafts, as Young joins cornerback Denzel Ward and defensive end Nick Bosa in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Young is tied with Bosa and quarterback Jim McDonald in 1938 as the fourth-highest Buckeye ever drafted, trailing only linebacker Tom Cousineau in 1979, defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson in 1994 and offensive tackle Orlando Pace, who were each selected with the No. 1 overall pick in their respective drafts.

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