Young, the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2020 who totaled a career high 10 sacks in 12 games last season, agreed that the Ohio State experience helped shape him in the best ways.
“Ohio State is just different,” Young said. “From the coaches to the players, everyone is so talented and it made practice a dogfight every day. I give a lot of credit to DL coach Larry Johnson for helping me develop and believing in me. And then, I formed a real close relationship with our strength coach that learned what buttons to push to get the best out of me.”
Olave said players have no choice except to be the best version of themselves daily.
“Competitive. That’s the one word I can say, is ‘competitive,'” he said. “It’s every day. You can’t just have one good day or two good days, you’ve got to bring it every day because everybody is bringing it every day. I feel like everybody has got a competitive edge out there, everybody is trying to be the best. It’s not just receivers against DBs, it was receivers against receivers. Everybody is trying to get on the field, everybody is trying to touch the ball so you’ve just got to bring it every day and bring it consistently.”
That message is presented at the outset.
“They say that during their recruiting,” Olave said. “They say if you want to get on the field, you’ve got to be able to bring your best. You’ve got to show out every day, you’ve got to stand out every day. But that’s what you want to be a part of, not just in football but in life.
“At the end of the day, you want to be around the best — that makes you the best. To be able to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best. Having that competition every day in practice, you’ve got to find that competitive edge within yourself to be able to get the best out of yourself.”
Those “best” days often have led to the NFL, and sometimes have earned a place with Ohio State South. During this year’s NFL Draft, which will be held from April 23-25, no one would be surprised if it happened again.