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Chase Young on freshman DE Zach Harrison: ‘He’s going to be a force to be reckoned with’
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Ohio State seems to have become a defensive end factory as of late. Name your favorite Bosa, Chase Young and the future is bright (there are numerous others, of course).
Zach Harrison may be that next bright spot. Coming out of high school, Harrison was a 5-star prospect and the No. 2 defensive end in the Class of 2019. He’s still in his first season as a Buckeye, but, he has proven that he is going to be a handful for years to come.
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Harrison has recorded five tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks to go along with his 22 total tackles. By the way, during Chase Young’s first year in Columbus, he finished with 18 tackles, five tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. Eerie, no?
Harrison acknowledges that it took him a bit of time to get up to speed:
“I came in early, and spring ball helped me through camp. I didn’t know what the season was going to hold. I started off kind of slow and once the games started slowing down a little bit, I started making more plays,” Harrison said.
“Zach, I think he’s ahead of me just because I think he’s developing a lot faster. He’s taking the coaching a lot faster than I did,” said Young earlier this month.
Young isn’t the only talented DE to sing Harrison’s praises:
“Not only is he an amazing athlete, he’s an amazing worker. He works really hard, he has a great work ethic, he has a great attitude,” Jonathon Cooper said.
“He’s just a good kid. He takes coaching very well, too. He’s very coachable. I’m proud of him. Everybody else might have expected him to be the freshman and raw, but we expected him to make a big impact since he came in. He’s been doing it.”
Once Young heads off to the NFL and becomes a top five draft pick (one would assume), Harrison may be the one we’re talking about as a potential game-changer on Ohio State’s defensive line. Young would agree with that:
“Zach, I feel like, as big as he is, he’s going to be a great player,” Young said. “He’s fast. He’s long. If he continues to work on his technique, he’s going to be a force to be reckoned with.”
We’ll see Harrison in action on Saturday, Dec. 28 against Clemson in his first ever College Football Playoff game.
Kevin covers Big Ten football for Saturday Tradition.