Ohio State Smiling Over Chase Young's Return for Penn State
Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley does his work on game day from the coaches' booth high along the home sideline in Ohio Stadium.
That's probably a good thing, given Hafley's abject failure keeping a poker face.
The smile he flashed at the mere mention of defensive end Chase Young's returning from a two-game suspension suggests Hafley might have a hard time concealing an anticipatory smile Saturday upon blitzing Young against No. 9 Penn State.
"I'm very excited," Hafley said. "I think everybody should be excited. He's one of the best players in all of college football. I think our team is excited. I' think our coaches are excited. I'm sure our fans are excited.
"I'm excited for him. I know it was hard for him not being in the last two games. I'm excited for him to get out (there) and get back at it. I think our team is excited too."
Given what Young did in his last game, what's not to be giddy about?
He tied an Ohio State single-game record with four quarterback sacks and forced two fumbles in a 38-7 win over then-No. 13 Wisconsin, destroying the Badgers attempt to balance tailback Jonathan Taylor's rushes with some semblance of a passing game.
The day after that Oct. 26 victory, OSU became aware of Young accepting a loan last December to fly his girlfriend to the Rose Bowl. Although he repaid the loan before this season, that NCAA violation prompted Ohio State to sit him for two games without an appeal.
"A violation occurred,'" OSU athletic director Gene Smith said. "He was going to have to sit. We could sit him now or sit him later, but he was going to have to sit."
The good fortune amid the bad is that Young's absence came during the span matching the Buckeyes against the two worst teams in the Big Ten East.
Maryland surrendered seven sacks in a 73-14 loss. Rutgers allowed only one, but fell, 56-21.
Ultimately, the consequence for Young's transgression could be damage it does to his Heisman Trophy chances. There's no way to accurately measure that, but it's a safe assumption some voters will dismiss him either because of the violation or because he will have played in two fewer games than other candidates.
Then again, Young could prove so spectacular against Penn State and Michigan that he overcomes whatever fallout traces to his suspension.
The only thing for certain is that Penn State had better block him differently, and more successfully, than Wisconsin failed doing by devoting a single blocker to him most of the game.
"Obviously Chase Young is back just in time for good old Penn State," Lions coach James Franklin said. "Obviously, very impressed with him. I've known Chase, know his uncle, known Chase for a long time. He's as impressive of a player on tape (as there is) in the country....He jumps off the tape at you."
When Franklin thinks about narrow losses to to the Buckeyes, and he's had three, Ohio State defensive ends probably dominate his nightmares.
In 2014, Joey Bosa crashed a Penn State tackle backward into quarterback sack of Christian Hackeneburg on the final play of an OSU double-overtime victory.
Last year, Young stunted from left end through the gap between guard and center to slam Miles Sanders for a two-yard loss on fourth-and-five on the Lions' final play in a 27-26 loss.
Young's absence the last two games denies Penn State any film study of what Ohio State might have in store with Young as a surprise for Saturday.
Against Wisconsin, OSU forced a Badgers' timeout -- not that it did much good -- early in the game when he lined up as a stand-up rusher over the center on long yardage.
"It's not so much what we can do differently," Hafley said. "You guys all saw when we stood him up and moved him around. It's that I think he changes what they have to do.
"They have to account for him. They might have to slide to him. They might have to keep a tight end in on him. They might have to keep a back in on him. They're going to have to find ways so he's not one-on-one.
"They might have to get rid of the ball quicker. They might not be able to sit in the pocket and throw those deep developing routes that give you problems, so I think it's more, 'What are they going to do,' than what we're going to do."
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