Kirk Herbstreit on Chase Young’s Heisman chances, comparisons to Joey and Nick Bosa

Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end Chase Young might be the best player in college football, but does he have a shot at winning the Heisman Trophy?

Chase Young had four sacks, two forced fumbles and five tackles for loss in Ohio State’s blowout win over Wisconsin on Saturday to put himself in the Heisman Trophy conversation. Yes, it’s difficult for a defensive player to win the Heisman, but Young’s play is so good and his impact on the team so large that you can’t overlook his contributions to the game.

Young already has 13.5 sacks, which equals Joey Bosa‘s career-high set as a sophomore in 15 games in 2014 and is just four sacks shy of Nick Bosa‘s career sack total in 29 games with the Buckeyes.

In short, Young is doing incredible things so I asked ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit if Young has a real shot at winning the Heisman, which has only gone to a defensive player once.

“I don’t have a lot of confidence in the voters of the Heisman Trophy,” Herbstreit said. “I’ve gone back over the years and looked at the almost 1,000 voters and I feel like half of them just pick up a preseason magazine and vote. It’s amazing they don’t follow the sport as closely as you should in order to be entitled to a vote.

Would it be deserving if he won? Yes. Will he win it? No, I don’t think so because of the way these guys vote. I don’t think they pay attention enough for a defensive guy to win it. If there’s ever been a guy on that side of the ball who just plays defense that is deserving, it’d be Chase Young.”

Charles Woodson in 1997 remains the only defensive player to win the Heisman and Herbstreit thinks he’ll remain the only defensive player no matter how well Young plays down the stretch for the Buckeyes. It’s disappointing when the Heisman voters who are trusted with the privilege of voting on the most prestigious honor in the sport to not consider the player who is the best, regardless of position. Nevertheless, the Heisman is now given in most years to the best quarterback on the best team.

Young may be on the best team and the best player on the best team, but LSU quarterback Joe Burrow and Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa likely edge out Young when the Heisman is awarded in December.

“He’s right there with Joe Burrow and Tua in the Heisman conversation, Herbstreit said. I just don’t have the confidence in the voters that they’ll recognize him and put him in as the guy.”

While Herbstreit doesn’t think the Heisman voters will recognize Young as the winner, Herbstreit does recognize the impact Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson had in recent years turning out one elite edge rusher after another.

It started with Joey Bosa who had a two-sack performance on Sunday in a win against the Chicago Bears. The former No. 3 pick had 26 sacks and 51 tackles for loss in three years at Ohio State. Then, it went to Joey’s younger brother Nick Bosa, who had 17.5 sacks and 29 tackles for loss in two-plus seasons before injury cut his junior short at three games. The No. 2 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers had a breakout performance in Sunday’s win over the Carolina Panthers with three sacks and an acrobatic interception and return. The Bosa Brothers could be competing with each other for NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors.

And Young is the next in line and Herbstreit thinks he could be better than both Joey and Nick.

“I’ve been following him for three years, he had a big game, but Ohio State’s had Joey Bosa, Nick Bosa, they’ve got Larry Johnson as the defensive line coach,” Herbstreit said. “It’s not by accident they continue to produce big-time, first overall pick type players and Chase Young is probably going to be the best, coming out of college anyway, of them yet.

Young will take not winning the Heisman if the consolation prize is being the first overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and having bragging rights on his Buckeye brethren. He’ll also look to join Joey as a national champion.

Kirk Herbstreit joined FanSided on behalf of Allstate where Kirk predicts the Allstate Mayhem Moment every Tuesday and to talk about the Allstate Playoff Predictor.

For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.