Ohio State Star Chase Young Declares for 2020 NFL Draft

Ohio State defensive end Chase Young announced Friday he's decided to forgo his senior season with the Buckeyes in order to enter the 2020 NFL draft.

He posted a statement on Twitter declaring his intentions:

Young enjoyed a breakout sophomore campaign with 34 tackles, 10.5 sacks, five passes defended and a forced fumble across 13 appearances for OSU in 2018.

The 20-year-old Maryland native built on that success in 2019 to push himself into the Heisman Trophy conversation. He racked up 29 tackles, 13.5 sacks and five forced fumbles in eight games before his eligibility came into question in early November.

Ohio State announced Young would miss the team's Week 11 game against Maryland because of a "possible NCAA issue from 2018 that the Department of Athletics is looking into."

Young provided further information in a Twitter post:

The dynamic edge-rusher returned after two weeks and registered three sacks in his first game back against Penn State. 

Young's draft stock has surged given his dominance off the edge at a time when quarterback play and disrupting an opponent's QB are the biggest keys to success in the NFL.

He's been listed as a top prospect throughout the season and was expected to make the jump to the NFL in 2020, even before the eligibility questions arose.

B/R's Matt Miller projected Young to the Washington Redskins with the No. 2 overall pick in his most recent mock draft.

Young is a virtual lock to land inside the top five during April's draft. He could take the No. 1 spot depending on his performance and the showings by the top quarterbacks during the draft process.