Ohio State’s most dominant members of the defense have officially become unanimous First-Team All-Americans.
Junior defensive end Chase Young and junior cornerback Jeff Okudah were both named to First-Team All-Americans by the Football Writers Association of America, the fifth of the major publications to give Young and Okudah first team honors.
The other four to honor Young and Okudah, along with the FWAA, was the American Football Coaches Association, Associated Press, Sporting News and Walter Camp Football Foundation, each of which put the duo on their first teams.
Young and Okudah are the 30th and 31st Ohio State players to be named unanimous All-Americans, and the first players since center Billy Price in 2017, and the first defensive player for the Buckeyes since safety Malik Hooker in 2016.
The pair is also the first duo of Ohio State players to win since Hooker and center Pat Elflein earned the honor in 2016. Overall, the Buckeyes have now had 35 selections — Howard “Hopalong” Cassady, Bob Ferguson, Archie Griffin and Orlando Pace were all unanimous selections twice — trailing only Oklahoma’s 36 for the most all-time.
Along with Young and Okudah, junior running back J.K. Dobbins was also selected as a First-Team All-American by the FWAA, but as the all-purpose selection while Oklahoma State’s Chuba Hubbard and Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor earned the running back spots.
Sophomore quarterback Justin Fields and sophomore guard Wyatt Davis were both second-team selections by the FWAA, putting Davis one first-team selection away from being a consensus All-American. Davis was picked as on the first-team by the Associated Press and Sporting News.
Davis, Dobbins, Okudah and Young will each get a tree in Buckeye Grove for receiving at least one First-Team All-American spot.
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