Ohio State's Chase Young Returns to Practice Amid NCAA Suspension Rumors

Ohio State defensive end Chase Young returned to practice after being held out of Saturday's 73-14 victory over Maryland.

Young's NCAA eligibility is currently under investigation.

"We're going to prepare for him to be back this week and he'll practice this week," Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said Tuesday, per Nathan Baird of Cleveland.com.

Day noted that Young had practiced all of last week even after it had been determined he would not play on Saturday.

Young's eligibility came into question late last week, leading the 20-year-old to reveal he had accepted a loan from a "family friend":

Bruce Feldman of The Athletic reported Young had accepted a loan in December 2018 to fly his girlfriend to Pasadena, California, for Ohio State's Rose Bowl showdown against Washington. He reportedly repaid the loan in April.

Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN reported Saturday the Buckeyes were expecting a four-game ban, though they were hopeful an appeal would reduce the lineman's absence to only two games:

A team spokesman called the expectation of a four-game suspension "incorrect," per Baird.

Kyle Rowland of the Toledo Blade reported a decision on Young's status is expected this week and he is facing a maximum suspension of two games:

Ohio State managed to handle its business against Maryland without Young and will likely be able to do the same against Rutgers this weekend if necessary. According to the Action Network's PJ Walsh, the Buckeyes opened as 50.5-point road favorites against the Scarlet Knights, who lost to the Terrapins 48-7 last month.

The 9-0 Buckeyes are No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings.

Young has put himself in the Heisman Trophy race with 15.5 tackles for loss and a nation-leading 13.5 sacks in eight games.