By MITCH STACY AP Sports Writer, and staff
COLUMBUS— It could have been worse.
Buckeye defensive end Chase Young will miss Saturday’s game against Rutgers as punishment for breaking NCAA rules by accepting a personal loan but the preseason All-American will be back for showdowns with No. 9 Penn State and No. 14 Michigan to end the regular season.
(2) Ohio St. (9-0, 6-0) at Rutgers (2-7, 0-6)
Sat., Nov. 16; SHI Stadium, Piscataway, N.J.
3:30 p.m./BTN
The penalty was announced by Ohio State in a statement Wednesday. The school had sought immediate reinstatement from the NCAA but the association’s staff ruled that the nation’s sack leader and likely first-round NFL draft pick would have to sit out one additional game.
Excited to be back on the field next week! Thank you Buckeye Nation for all the love and support. I’m blessed to be a part of this team, this university, and this community. Lots of love to my family. God Bless and Go Bucks!
— Chase Young (@youngchase907) November 13, 2019
Young was held out of the second-ranked Buckeyes’ 73-14 rout of Maryland last week but his punishment could have been a suspension as long as four games, OSU Athletic Director Gene Smith said.
“Had they gone to three or four we probably would have appealed [the ruling] but we chose, with the [Young] family, to accept the two [games],” Smith told reporters Wednesday.
Chase Young timeline
2018 – Young accepts loan from family friend
Summer, 2019 – Young repays loan
Oct. 27 – Possible violation reported to OSU
Nov.8 – Young says he will not play against Maryland
Nov. 12 – OSU asks NCAA for immediate reinstatement
Nov. 13 – NCAA suspends Young for one additional game
Ohio State announced the day before its game with Maryland that Young would be held out 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.
There had been rumors that the violation had been reported by someone connected with University of Maryland to take Young out of the lineup for the game but Smith said the incident had been reported directly to Ohio State the day after the Wisconsin by someone not association with any Big Ten program.
Young tweeted in response to the decision on Wednesday: “Excited to be back on the field next week! Thank you Buckeye Nation for all the love and support.”
Young has been practicing with the team all week and will continue to do so.
“He’s exactly the way he was before,” defensive tackle Davon Hamilton said Tuesday. “Obviously, he’s going through the situation, and he just continues to be himself. We’ll support him no matter what.”
Young last played Oct. 26 against Wisconsin and had a performance that thrust him into the Heisman Trophy conversation.
The suspension has been the first hint of off-field trouble or any significant adversity for the Buckeyes, who are ranked No. 2 in the current playoff rankings in coach Ryan Day’s first season in charge.
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.