A trio of Buckeyes are among the Big Ten's best as J.K. Dobbins, Justin Fields and Chase Young are finalists for this year's Chicago Tribune Silver Football Award, given to the top player in the conference as voted by the coaches.
An Ohio State player has won five of the last seven years. Braxton Miller won it twice in 2012 and 13, Ezekiel Elliott claimed the honor in 2015, J.T. Barrett earned it in 2016 and Dwayne Haskins was last year's winner.
Dobbins is second in the conference in rushing, behind only Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor by just 104 yards, but he leads the Big Ten in yards per carry and has had some of his best games against some of the best rush defenses he's faced, averaging 176 yards and 2.25 touchdowns against top-15 rush defenses this season.
Fields has been the most efficient passer in the conference with an efficiency rating of 192.10, which is good for No. 4 in the nation. He also has a conference-best 37-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio and also leads the conference in points responsible for.
Young leads both the conference and the nation in sacks with 16.5, despite missing two games with a suspension and has been the most dominant defensive player in the country.
The Buckeye trio will join the only other finalist, Taylor, in Indianapolis this weekend as Ohio State takes on Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship game.
