Ohio State will have no shortage of representation at this year's national college football awards show.
Chase Young, Justin Fields, J.K. Dobbins and Jeff Okudah will all be attending the ESPN's Home Depot College Football Awards in Atlanta on Dec. 12 as finalists for national individual awards.
Young has been selected as a finalist for both the Maxwell Award, which honors college football's best overall player, and the Chuck Bednarik Award, which honors the nation's best defensive player. The junior defensive end leads the nation with 16.5 sacks this season, ranks second nationally with six forced fumbles and third nationally with 19.5 total tackles for loss and has 38 total tackles in nine games.
Fields is a finalist for the Davey O'Brien Award, which honors college football's best quarterback. The sophomore quarterback has passed for 2,352 yards and 33 touchdowns while completing 69.4 percent of his passing attempts and throwing just one interception, while he has also rushed for 445 yards and 10 touchdowns. His 43 total touchdowns rank fourth among all Football Bowl Subdivision players.
LSU quarterback Joe Burrow and Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts are the other finalists for the Maxwell and O'Brien awards. Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown and Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons are the other finalists for the Bednarik Award.
Dobbins is a finalist for the Doak Walker Award, which honors college football's best running back. The junior running back ranks fourth nationally with 1,446 rushing yards, fifth nationally with 1,597 yards from scrimmage and tied for sixth with 17 touchdowns scored, all the while averaging 6.8 yards per touch. Oklahoma State's Chuba Hubbard, who leads the nation with 1,832 rushing yards, and Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor, who ranks second with 1,685 rushing yards, are the other finalists for the award.
Okudah is a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, which honors college football's best defensive back. The junior has emerged as one of the nation's most dominant cornerbacks this season, with lockdown play in pass coverage and strong run support while recording three interceptions, four additional pass breakups, two forced fumbles and 25 total tackles. LSU safety Grant Delpit and Georgia safety J.R. Reed are his competition for that award.
Young has also been named as a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, which also honors college football's best defensive player and will be presented at the Nagurski Trophy's banquet on Dec. 9 in Charlotte, North Carolina, which Ohio State head coach Ryan Day will also be attending as the banquet's keynote speaker.
Fields, Dobbins and Young have all been named semifinalists for the Walter Camp Award, whose winner will also be announced on ESPN prior to the Home Depot Awards on Dec. 12; the five finalists for that award will be announced on Dec. 5.
Young and Fields also both remain firmly in the running to earn invitations to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony on Dec. 14. Heisman finalists will be announced on Dec. 9.
