Heisman rankings Week 9: Joe Burrow leads, Chase Young enters mix

4. Chase Young, DE, Ohio State

Dominant almost doesn’t feel like a strong enough word to describe Ohio State defensive end Chase Young against the Wisconsin Badgers. Finally asked to stay on the field for the majority of the game as it took the Buckeyes a bit longer to start blowing out their Big Ten foes, Young feasted on Jack Coan and the Wiscy offensive line all day long, finishing with six tackles, four sacks, a forced fumble and five total tackles for loss.

Though it’s near-impossible for a defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy, Young is doing what’s necessary if it’s even going to be close to a conversation. The Ohio State star now has an unreal 13.5 sacks on the season to go with five forced fumbles. Even if he doesn’t win the award, his level of play this season warrants a nod as a finalist that gets a nod to New York. Despite the great quarterback play we’ve seen, you could legitimately argue that no player has been as dominant as Young.

3. Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama

Considering that Tua Tagovailoa didn’t play in Week 9 and missed the majority of Alabama’s Week 8 victory over Tennessee, you might be expecting him to drop further at this point. The fact of the matter is, though, that the junior quarterback has still done enough to warrant our respect in these rankings and keep him in the mix right at the top.

Despite missing time with the injury, Tagovailoa still has 2,166 yards passing to go with 27 touchdowns and only two interceptions while also adding two rushing touchdowns to his credit. If he does indeed return on Nov. 9 for the monster showdown with LSU and he continues to perform at the level he was prior to the injury, Tua will again vault himself seriously in the conversation to win this award.