[jwplayer BxrJhjw9-XNcErKyb]
It was a battle that most thought Michigan could win. And when it did win it, there were erroneous reports about how the Wolverines sold out on the offensive line to stop him.
While the Wolverines lost handily to Ohio State in Ann Arbor, one thing they did a stellar job of was neutralizing Chase Young.
In the 2019 iteration of The Game, the future top 5 NFL Draft pick only registered one quarterback pressure. That’s it. No tackles, no sacks — nothing of note in the stat-line. Afterwards, many claimed that Michigan triple-teamed Young, a notion that two-time All-Big Ten first-team left tackle Jon Runyan Jr. vehemently denied.
The film bores that out. Yes, sometimes multiple players would get at Young on their way to another position on the field during the play. That does not qualify as double or triple-teaming. But the onus of the effort was made by Michigan’s tackles — Runyan and Jalen Mayfield.
Now, both Young and Runyan are vying for NFL jobs with the draft coming up next month. As said, Young will be selected in the top-end, while Runyan has only made a handful of seven-round mocks. Yet, he proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt that he can contend with elite defensive ends.
So, how did he do it? How did he stop Chase Young?
It came down to being fundamentally sound, but even he admits, mistakes were still made.
“I just relied on my technique,” Runyan said. “Chase is a phenomenal player obviously. I kinda understood his game from evaluating film. He’s a huge body, that’s pretty evident. I kinda knew his game. He’s not that big bull-rushing guy. He’s going to try to beat you with speed. When he does beat you with speed, he’s going to burn you and he’s going to hit the quarterback hard.
“He got me one time and he planted Shea. Shea got the ball off in time and I felt so bad because I heard him pick him up and put him on the ground. I heard Shea exhale and that felt so bad. I looked at Shea and apologized to him right there. It was third down. I was able to get in a rhythm against him. I knew I had to get off on the snap count. I felt like I did pretty good for myself going against the second overall pick seemingly.”
Runyan got even more specific as far as how the schematics of the offensive line’s defense of Young worked.
He’s not taking away anything from the Buckeyes star — quite the opposite. He praised the Ohio State staff for recognizing how Michigan was working against Young and adapting.
Yet, Michigan still managed to find success, even when audibles were made.
“We knew our game plan was — we were going to slide to where he was and they figured out that really early, so they started putting him to the 3-technique side where he usually plays on the weak side, so they kind of shut that off,” Runyan said. “So we were sliding to the 3-technique and the guard wasn’t able to help because the 3-technique was playing outside. They found out our game plan so we started incorporating chip stuff in there. It kinda started working.
“He did get me one time on an inside move in empty protection and thankfully it was a quick throw. We were just trying to give him different looks. You do what you can to eliminate one of the best players in the country and that’s what we did. He’s a great physical player. Lot of respect for him. He’s going to do great things in the NFL.”
Given just that performance, regardless of what happens in the NFL Scouting Combine this week, Runyan has proved that, like his father before him, he deserves a shot at the professional level.