Chase Young is one of the best 2017 football prospects anywhere. The rising senior at DeMatha Catholic, a powerhouse high school program in Hyattsville, Md., is ranked as one of the top five defensive ends in the country.
Young committed to Ohio State on Friday, giving the Buckeyes a prospect who some believe is the best defensive end in the country in the class of 2017.
In an interview back in April, Young explained what he was looking for in a school.
"I wouldn't say I'm going to the school because they win this many amount of games," Young told SB Nation on Sunday, at the Washington, D.C., regional camp for Nike's The Opening. "That's just not me. I go there and see my comfort level with the school."
A big part of Young's calculus in choosing a school was academic. He wants to study criminology, with an eye toward becoming an FBI agent after he's done playing.
"It's a lot more than just football to me," he said. "It's a lot of what to do after football."
Asked for a scouting report on himself, Young offered: "Quick first step, real good hands, fast. They say I can work on my strength. I guess my size, too. I know I can get bigger. I'm strong, but I know I can get bigger."
He showed that quick first step during drills in April:
DeMatha DE Chase Young too much for new Maryland commit Jordan McNair to handle on the edge. pic.twitter.com/je15P3xCfd
— Sean Fitz (@seanfitz247) April 17, 2016
It's been an interesting year for Young and his DeMatha teammates. DeMatha is used to having elite players and lots of power-program scholarship offers in any given year, but this one stands out. Young and Stags running back Anthony McFarland are two of Maryland's consensus top three high school players, and several more of them are likely to play somewhere in FBS in two seasons.
"God, he blessed me with football," Young said. "I'm gonna play that out until it stops, just keep going."