Exhale, Giants fans.
Your dream first-round pick sounds like he’s still very much in play.
Chase Young, the monster defensive end from Ohio State most believe is the best prospect in the country, told TMZ Sports Friday night “the plan” is for him to return to school for his senior year.
But Saturday night in the Heisman Trophy pre-ceremony press availability, Young backed off that comment. He said there is no plan at the moment for next year.
“That moment was just a real spontaneous moment. It caught me off guard,” Young said. “I’m not even really worried about anything in the future. I’m just worried about beating Clemson right now.”
He made similar comments on Friday during the day, repeatedly saying he wasn’t thinking about the NFL yet, though Young did say the idea of teams positioning themselves to draft him is “motivation.” Young is focused on the College Football Playoff and Clemson, the Buckeyes’ semifinal opponent on Dec. 28 in the Fiesta Bowl.
When asked if returning to school is an option, Young said: “I just got to talk about it with my family and just pray. I feel like God will tell me the answer.”
The 6-foot-5, 265-pound defensive end led the nation with 16.5 sacks and racked up 21 tackles for loss, three passes defensed and six forced fumbles despite being suspended two games for an NCAA rules violation for allegedly accepting a loan from a family friend.
He’s been the apple of Giants’ fans eye for a while, the potential one bright spot in this disastrous season. After a brief scare, he remains a very realistic option.
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