Ask anybody at any level of Ohio State’s defense, and they’ll hail Chase Young as somebody who makes their job easier.
Linebackers mention the focus offensive linemen have on Young, allowing them to play with more freedom. Cornerbacks go on about Young minimizing the time they need to remain in coverage. Safeties tout Young forcing offenses to rely on quicker-hitting route combinations. Defensive ends talk about his pass-rushing acumen freeing them up for one-on-ones on the other side of the line of scrimmage. Defensive tackles reference his ability to eat up blockers, giving them more room to operate on the interior.
“His presence matters,” Ryan Day said on Dec. 3 a couple days after Ohio State beat Michigan. “Although sometimes maybe it doesn't mean he's getting sacks or TFL's, when two or three guys get the attention of him, that opens up things for other guys. (Jonathon Cooper) getting a sack, that max protection where the whole line was sliding his way. That's part of the impact Chase has on a game.”
Largely, that view on Young’s impact has proven true, which is partially why he recently ended up as a Heisman Trophy finalist in New York City.
Yet the pass-rush outside of Young, who has 16.5 sacks in 11 games, hasn’t always been quite as consistent as Ohio State would prefer. Nobody other than Young has more than five sacks. Instead of one person rising above the rest to complement him, the Buckeyes have had a varied group of players step up. Six different players – Baron Browning, Jashon Cornell, DaVon Hamilton, Malik Harrison, Zach Harrison and Tyreke Smith – have between three and five sacks.
“At the end of the day, if they really want to slide, chip, put three guys on him, it's going to be hard. That's where the other guys have to step up.”– Ryan Day
The question of who other than Young can step up as a pass rusher became a more widely circulated question when Wisconsin and Michigan held him without a sack in the past two games by dedicating even more blockers to the stud edge rusher than Ohio State’s prior opponents. By doing so, the Wolverines and Badgers effectively forced everybody else on the defense to beat them, and the Buckeyes managed just two sacks in each of the games after averaging 4.3 sacks per game before then.
Though neither team handed the Buckeyes a loss, they might have shown off a somewhat viable strategy for dealing with Young just a few weeks ahead of Clemson’s matchup with him in Saturday’s Fiesta Bowl.
Against the Trevor Lawrence-led passing attack, Ohio State absolutely has to be able to rush the passer. That’s a necessity when facing an offense that also includes one of the best wide receiver corps and running backs in the nation. And if the Tigers do everything they can to stop Young while sacrificing other areas of the line to ensure he doesn’t beat them, it’ll be incumbent on the rest of the defensive front to get Lawrence out of rhythm.
“You can tell that after the (first) Wisconsin game, teams put a lot more focus on chipping Chase, putting a guard on Chase, doubling Chase,” Harrison said. “That's really where us as younger guys have to step up because that means we're left kind of alone on the backside, and we have to make those plays. That's one thing coach Day has really emphasized later in the season, winning those one-on-one battles.”
On the other end of the defensive line, the spotlight will shine on Smith and Harrison.
Smith’s potential breakout season hasn’t come to fruition due to various injuries. Most recently, he has dealt with a small fracture in his hand. But the physical gifts are there, and the possibility for some sort of a breakout game exists.
“I think every game is an opportunity for me to prove myself and I think this is one of the bigger ones,” Smith said. “It's one of the opportunities I could prove to my team that I'm really a factor on defense and just help my defense. It's just a big opportunity.”
The same is true for Harrison.
Coming into the program as a five-star prospect, the tools were always there for him to make significant contributions. But even he has admitted that he didn’t anticipate playing as often as he has as a freshman. Harrison has taken the field for the second-most snaps among all defensive ends, picking up 22 tackles and 3.5 sacks. On Saturday, he’ll have a chance to make a game-changing play or two.
“(Harrison has) caught on real fast,” Smith said. “It's just coach (Larry) Johnson, his teaching. I think he's honed his skills and he's gotten better every game, every practice.”
From the inside, both Hamilton and Cornell have come through in key moments with sacks. So integral against both the run and pass, they’ll be some of Ohio State’s most important players against Clemson.
Behind the defensive tackles, both Browning and Harrison have shown an ability to get to the quarterback when given opportunities. Both around 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds, they combine impressive size with rare athleticism that allows them not to get athletically overwhelmed when facing their most talent-rich opponent of the season.
There’s a chance that Clemson opts to leave its offensive tackles to handle Young in more one-on-one situations, rendering all this wonder for naught. But based on what happened in their two most recent games, the Tigers might have learned something.
“At the end of the day, if they really want to slide, chip, put three guys on him, it's going to be hard,” Day said on Dec. 16. “That's where the other guys have to step up. Again, any time they decide to do something like that, put extra resources into stopping Chase, they're giving up something else. Our defensive staff will be looking at that, try to figure out how we can get a schematic advantage.”
