Ohio State Football: 3 reasons Chase Young should win 2019 Heisman Trophy

1. Chase Young is the best defensive lineman Heisman finalist ever

Since this is about the Heisman, let’s compare college stats from the Heisman finalists.

It’s difficult to measure the other three finalists with Young because Steve Emtman, Warren Sapp and Ndamukong Suh all played defensive tackle — Emtman was sometimes moved outside to tackle.

Suh: 85 total tackles, 52 solo tackles, 33 assists, 20.5 tackles for loss, 12 sacks and one interception — fourth place in Heisman voting.

Most college football experts and writers believe that Suh is the most dominant defensive lineman in the history of college football. The tape and eye test make a compelling case. He was regularly double and triple-teamed, but still had linebacker type numbers when it came to tackles. Defensive tackles aren’t supposed to have 85 total tackles. That’s usually reserved for the middle linebacker. He had as much influence on an offenses philosophy as defensive player before or since.

Sapp: 84 total tackles, 37 solo tackles, 47 assists, 12.5 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries — sixth in Heisman voting.

Sapp is the prototype of what would eventually become Suh. Before Sapp, pressure on the quarterback almost exclusively came from the defensive end position. Jimmy Johnson’s premium on speed opened the door for players like Sapp. All the coaches that succeeded Jimmy Johnson at the “U” kept the tradition of recruiting fast players. He was no exception. He wasn’t the big run-stuffing interior lineman but he was a smaller, fast interior linemen who got to the quarterback as a first priority, but was powerful enough to hold his own against the run.

Emtman: 6.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss — fourth place in Heisman voting.

Emtman was the dominant anchor of a Washington Huskies defense that allowed 9.2  points per game on their way to the 1991 national championship. He stood up to constant double and triple-teams, yet kept his dominance. He didn’t have the numbers as his fellow defense only finalists because teams didn’t throw as much.

Looking at these finalists in comparison to Chase Young prove that he’s the most dominant college football player in the modern era. All of these defensive only finalists have the same thing in common, they forced scheme and philosophy changes by offensive coordinators. It might not show up in the gaudy statistics defensive players put up, but throw on some tape and it’s as plain as day.