Chase Young is already the star of the 2020 NFL Draft

“This year, with the help of two veteran coaches who have produced enough first-rounders on the defensive line to fill an NFL roster, Young will have the opportunity to lead the pack of another talented group of Buckeyes with NFL decisions to make at the end of the season.”

-Dan Murphy, ESPN

It’s already been 48 hours since the end of the 2019 NFL Draft, so naturally analysts are well on their way to prospecting the top picks for the 2020 draft, especially from among the top teams in college football. The 2019 draft saw a weak quarterback class, with just three first-round selections (we can gripe about the order of those three selections later), but an absurd amount of highly-touted defensive linemen. In fact, 11 defensive linemen were taken in the first round alone, including three of the top-four picks.

For the Buckeyes, the two draft classes seem to have an early emerging theme, at least when it comes to the top player in the class. Defensive end Chase Young seems to already be filling the shoes of Nick Bosa in the minds of analysts. Young had 9.5 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss during his true sophomore season in 2018 — more than enough to get him noticed on a loaded defensive line. Next season, given the loss of both Bosa and Dre’Mont Jones, it’ll be up to Young to anchor the line and secure his spot in the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Big Ten had a total of 40 players drafted over the weekend — the second-most of any conference. Ohio State continued to assert its dominance in the draft, leading the conference with nine picks (the second-highest total of any school). The Big Ten made its presence known on the big stage especially, with seven first-round picks, including two by Ohio State. And of course in the most stereotypical Iowa storyline ever, while there were just two wide receivers taken in the first round, the Hawkeyes had two tight ends drafted within the first 20 picks. Nebraska, meanwhile, failed to have a draft selection for the first time since 1962. Sorry, Frost.

Congrats to the Ohio State Buckeyes men’s tennis team!

In what has become a recurring theme, the men’s squad won the Big Ten Men’s Tennis Tournament over the weekend for the fourth-straight season. After opening the tournament with a 4-0 win over Minnesota, the top-ranked Buckeyes beat Michigan 4-2 in the semis and Illinois 4-1 in the finals to take home the trophy. This year’s win also marks the program’s 9th-overall tournament title.

While the Buckeyes were challenged in the semi-finals versus Michigan, losing the doubles point in rare fashion, Ohio State bounced back to take down the Illini. Ohio State regained the doubles point, then secured wins by Martin Joyce, Kyle Seelig and Alex Kobelt in singles to take home the title.

The men had already earned the conference’s regular season title — the program’s 14th-consecutive title, in fact — with their win over Indiana last weekend in the regular season finale. The Buckeyes finished the season with a 29-2-overall record, including going 11-0 in conference play and taking their last 13 matches. With the tournament wins this past weekend, Ohio State has gone 47-0 against Big Ten foes in the last four years.

Next up, the Buckeyes head to Orlando for the NCAA Tournament. The first and second rounds of the tournament are scheduled for this weekend, with regionals and the championship scheduled for later in May. While the tournament draw is not scheduled until this evening, the Buckeyes hold the nation’s top ranking according to the ITA, and should enter the NCAA Tournament as the top-overall seed.

Congrats again to the Buckeyes, and best of luck in the NCAA Tournament!

“One day before the 2019 NFL Draft got started, Haskins went to social media to make a simple request: Give him a Buckeye to throw to in the NFL.”

-Adam Stites, SBNation

The weekend’s NFL Draft didn’t go as the world expected it to for Dwayne Haskins, but apparently it was exactly how the former Ohio State quarterback thought it would go for himself (though he did seem to call out the New York Giants after they chose not to take him with the sixth-overall pick in the draft). Years ago, as a writer for a high school paper, Haskins wrote that the Redskins would be in the market for a quarterback soon -- despite Robert Griffin III having won Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2012. Did the young Haskins know then that it would be he who would fill that void for Washington? Perhaps. He had, after all, already made the decision to come to Ohio State and play quarterback. When he was 11.

But perhaps the coolest prediction Haskins made regarding his NFL future was one which also included the teammates he threw to all season long.

Haskins’ wish came true when the Redskins took Terry McLaurin with the 13th pick in the third round of the draft Friday night. It was pretty serendipitous that Washington managed to pick up the quarterback-receiver pair. Projected as a third-round pick after the combine, McLaurin showed his skill as a blocker especially during his time at Ohio State.

Of the 10 Buckeyes who officially entered the NFL Draft, three were receivers who caught the passes and ran the yards that helped get Haskins noticed by NFL scouts. Moreover, those three receivers — McLaurin, Parris Campbell and Johnnie Dixon — were all fifth-year seniors who opted to return to Columbus for their final season of eligibility. That experience, no doubt, helped play a role early in the season as Haskins got his feet under him as a starter, providing outlets with significant game experience to support.

STICK TO SPORTS

• We’ve all been Gregg Popovich
• Ohio has some ground to make up when it comes to players taken in the NFL Draft
• Great, now I’m cheering for Josh Allen.
• Clayton Thorson’s reaction is pretty great, too