Chase Young on playing with former Ohio State teammate Nick Bosa again: 'Gonna be fun, a race to the quarterback'
Chase Young wasn’t mad when he found out last Tuesday that the Washington Commanders were trading him to the San Francisco 49ers.
As Young said Monday, his first time practicing in his new threads, he was excited to land in San Francisco, especially when he realized he’d be lining up opposite of Ohio State teammate Nick Bosa.
“I wasn’t mad,” Young said, via the team’s website. “Nick Bosa is here, and he’s always been a big brother to me, even at Ohio State. Stepping in here today, I got in here last week, just the culture and vibe is a lot different. I definitely know that I am in the building with winners.”
He added: “I think it’s going to be like in college, a race to the quarterback.”
Young and Bosa spent two seasons together in Columbus, forming one of the best pass-rushing duos in the nation. In 2017, they combined for 12.0 sacks, 8.5 coming from Bosa. Young was the lead man in 2018, recording 10.5 sacks while Bosa notched 4.0. Both Bosa (2018) and Young (2019) were taken second overall in their respective NFL Drafts.
Young revealed that Bosa called him upon learning they would be teammates once again.
“It was literally five minutes after they did it,” Young said. “He called me and said, ‘Bro!’ It was a good moment. Even in college, we never thought that we would ever be able to play with each other again. It’s a blessing.”
Chase Young, Nick Bosa reunited in NFL
While Bosa has been the bigger star up to this point in the NFL, winning AP Defensive Player of the Year last season, Young is on pace to have his best career output this season. In seven games with Washington, Young totaled 5.0 sacks, 15 tackles (12 solo), nine quarterback hits and a forced fumble.
Though Young sustained a torn ACL in 2021 which sidelined him for the remainder of that season and part of 2022 as well, general manager John Lynch said that Young’s start to the season proves he was worth the third-round pick they parted ways with to acquire him.
“I think the proof is in what’s translating on the field, and he’s been playing a lot looking, you know, really good,” Lynch said. “It sure looks like he’s been healthy based upon what he’s been doing on the field.”