Ohio State star defensive end Chase Young, one of the nation’s top pass rushers, will miss his second consecutive game Saturday as punishment for accepting a personal loan in violation of NCAA rules but will be eligible for the Buckeyes' season-ending matchups against Penn State and Michigan, the university announced Wednesday.
Young had sat out Ohio State's 73-14 win over Maryland on Saturday. A day earlier, the school announced that Young would be held out of the Maryland game amid concerns he violated NCAA rules by taking a loan last year from someone he describes as a “family friend” for living expenses. Young explained his “mistake” in a tweet and said the loan had been paid back earlier this year.
Young will also miss Saturday's game at Rutgers, in which Ohio State is a 52-point favorite.
“Excited to be back on the field next week! Thank you Buckeye Nation for all the love and support," Young tweeted Wednesday. The junior from Hyattsville, Md. has been practicing with the team all week, and will continue to do so.
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Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said the violation was reported to the university on Oct. 27, the day after the Buckeyes beat Wisconsin and Young’s dynamic four-sack performance inserted him into the Heisman Trophy conversation.
Young was confronted with the report and cooperated with the university’s investigation. Smith declined to comment on whether Chase knew at the time that borrowing the money was an NCAA violation.
Ohio State submitted its report on Tuesday and the NCAA came back with the decision Wednesday. The university had asked for a single-game suspension but decided not to appeal the NCAA’s ruling that Young sit out two games.
Smith declined to comment on who reported the violation but did say it was not another Big Ten school. He also declined to talk about how much Young borrowed and from whom. The player wasn’t made available Wednesday.
“This is the example of the culture of compliance we have at Ohio State,” Smith said Wednesday, adding that based on the circumstances of the loan, the NCAA “would use its leadership capacity to take an understanding approach on behalf of all student-athletes who find themselves in a similar position, and it certainly did just that.”
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“I also want to commend Chase Young and let him know how proud we are of him,” Smith said. “He took responsibility for his actions, cooperated throughout the process and understood and accepted that there would be consequences.”
Young has recorded 14 sacks in eight games so far this season and is likely to be a high pick in next year's NFL Draft should he choose to leave school. Ohio State currently sits at No. 2 in the College Football Playoff rankings behind LSU.
A year ago, Ohio State dealt with a three-game suspension to the start the season for then-coach Urban Meyer, who was punished by the university for mismanaging domestic-abuse allegations against a former assistant coach.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.