Ohio State’s Chase Young to miss Saturday’s game against Maryland for possible “NCAA issue”

Ohio State junior defensive end Chase Young will not play on Saturday against Maryland football “due to a possible NCAA issue from 2018 that the Department of Athletics is looking into,” according to a release from the school.

This year, Young has been on a tear. The junior defensive end is the only defensive player within the Heisman conversation, ranking first nationally in sacks (13.5), sack yards (95) and second in forced fumbles (five).

The team captain has 29 total tackles this year, which is fourth on the team, and only needs one more sack this season to set the single-season Ohio State record previously set in 2007.

“His size, his speed, his athleticism and his power are all the things that make him a great player,” head coach Mike Locksley said on Tuesday, when it seemed like he was playing. “You can bet that he’ll have our full attention in how we protect and turn the protection and help make sure that we don’t allow him to disrupt what we want to do to try to move the football.”

A product of DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, Maryland, Young was ranked as the No. 7 recruit in the Class of 2017, per the 247Sports Consensus. He received offers from 41 schools, including Maryland, but ultimately decided to play under Urban Meyer at Ohio State.

Young is widely considered the best defensive prospect available in the 2020 NFL Draft, and many mock drafts have him being taken No. 1 overall. It’s unclear just how serious the NCAA issue in question is, but even if it’s a minor circumstance, Maryland’s beleaguered offense just caught a big break.

UPDATE: Young has released a statement on Twitter.