Signed: Chase Young

When it comes to defensive ends, Ohio State was able to land the top guy on its recruiting board in the 2017 cycle in Hyattsville (Md.) Dematha Catholic star Chase Young. But it was a battle on two-fronts for the Buckeyes the whole way. Sometimes in recruiting you are fighting a fellow national powerhouse and other times you may be fighting the local school, but the Buckeyes had to overcome both factors with Young.

The 6-foot-5, 250-pound prospect flirted with both Alabama and Maryland throughout the process, but ultimately his relationship with defensive line coach Larry Johnson won out and the Buckeyes landed his pledge in July.

One of the more interesting aspects of Young's recruitment was his ascension up the rankings list throughout his high school career. Young moved up in each of the last three rankings updates that Rivals.com put out, climbing all the way to the No. 8 overall prospect in the class on the final update.

A big part of Young's final bump into the top ten and five-star status, was a dominant performance at the Army All-American Bowl. Young was a top performer all week during practice and then turned it up another notch in the game. Young came into the week wanting to make a statement, not for the ranking itself, but to command the respect as one of the nation's top players.

"I just tried to play really well," Young said of the Army Bowl. "I wanted to show that I was one of the best defensive players out there. I think I did that."

Young walks into an absolutely loaded roster at the defensive end position with several future NFL draft picks returning from this past year's team. But he's ready once again to prove himself.

"I'm just ready to get there," Young told BuckeyeGrove.com. "I'm ready to get in the weight room and ready to get to work. I'm ready to play."