Redskins: Chase Young’s great work ethic described

The Redskins selected Chase Young with the second pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and he has an excellent work ethic to go with his top-tier skill set.

When the Washington Redskins selected Chase Young with the No. 2 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, there was a lot of excitement surrounding the pick. And for good reason.

Young was the best defensive player in college football during the 2019 season and racked up 16.5 sacks during his final season with the Buckeyes. At the next level, he should be a potential double-digit sack threat and should pair long-term with Montez Sweat as a great pass rushing tandem for the Redskins.

Young figures to be a pro-ready player right away. But he should continue to improve at the next level. As ESPN’s John Keim detailed in a recent piece, Young has had a terrific work ethic since a very young age.

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"Young developed a workmanlike attitude when he was 6 years old. His parents remembered that former star running back Herschel Walker never lifted weights. Young didn’t lift weights until high school. Instead, he did pushups, squats and agility work with a ladder or cones. He would play a card game, and, based on the card he picked, he would have to do a corresponding number of exercises. And, Young became a film junkie before he reached Ohio State.“He worked hard from an early age,” Carla Young said. “We never had to tell him to work out or exercise. We almost had to threaten him to sit down.”"

In high school, Young continued to show off his determination to be the best. As Keim detailed, Young would shoot hoops for 20 minutes after football practice to keep working on his craft in that area. And his basketball coach, Mike Jones — who also coached former Philadelphia 76ers No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz, a friend of Young’s — believes that Young could’ve gone pro in basketball because of his work ethic.

"“Some guys are talented in one [sport] so they have this prima donna or this, ‘I’m Chase Young so I don’t have to do that’ attitude,'” Jones said. “He never behaved that way. He played like he had something to prove. I knew I could count on Chase.“If he wanted to be a Division I basketball player, he could have been. I want that to be very clear. You could see his talent and size and his work ethic.”"

That’s certainly a good sign for Young’s potential at the next level. And it explains how he has been able to turn into such a great player so quickly during his college days. If he continues to work hard, he will only get better and could turn into one of the NFL’s best edge rushers.

We won’t know how Young will fare at the NFL level until we see him on the field. But given what he did in college and reports about his work ethic and strong character, Young’s future is looking bright.