Nick's time: Younger Bosa could surpass brother's legacy
Jon Spencer- Nick Bosa ranked first on the Buckeyes in sacks (8.5) and tackles for loss (16) last season and should be on the field even more in 2018
- Bosa had two of OSU's eight sacks in the 24-7 Cotton Bowl win over USC
- Bosa was the only Buckeye to grade as a "champion" in all 12 wins last season
Editor's Note: This is a reprint of Jon Spencer's cover story in USA Today's Special Edition, College Football '18, available in stores now. Spencer will be in Chicago on Monday and Tuesday for Big Ten Media Days. Follow him on Twitter at @jspencermnj #B1GMediaDays
COLUMBUS – Nick Bosa isn’t the player his brother, a two-time consensus All-American, was for Ohio State.
He’s clearly better.
Joey Bosa says so.
Better than his brother?
The older Bosa, the furthest thing from a quote machine, never made headlines with his mouth during his OSU career. But he sent shock waves through Columbus in June when he said his kid brother is “light years ahead” of where he was as a Buckeye.
Maybe this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Nick Bosa, after all, is the reigning Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year for Ohio State. Last season as a sophomore, he ranked first on the team in sacks (8.5) and tackles for loss (16) despite starting only seven games on a front line that including three other ends taken in the first four rounds of the NFL draft.
It’s a foregone conclusion he will be entering the 2019 draft. You don’t use up all of your college eligibility if draftniks believe you have a shot at being the No. 1 overall pick. The last Buckeye taken No. 1 was offensive tackle Orlando Pace in 1997. Joey Bosa went No. 3 to the Chargers in 2016 and has proceeded to register 23 sacks in 27 NFL games
“I think (Joey’s) talking me up a little bit,” Nick said, laughing, “but, no, I think I got the technique a little earlier than him. I started crafting it a little bit earlier. But he’s been defensive Rookie of the Year (in the NFL) and a Pro Bowler. If I could be that good and even light years ahead of that, I’m pretty well set.”
Some of the credit goes to Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson. Ironically, he’s the same guy fans accused of holding Nick Bosa back by sticking with a rotation at defensive end last season.
The things Johnson taught Joey Bosa in the two years he had him were passed down from brother to brother.
“I think what Joey was referring to is that he got the technique and the pass rush stuff as a sophomore when I walked in and introduced it to him,” Johnson said. “So he picked it up and then Nick got it in high school when Joey went home to work with him and then when Nick came on campus for the camps.”
Defensive ends Sam Hubbard, Tyquan Lewis and Jalyn Holmes all got more snaps last season than Bosa, but they’re gone, along with cornerback Denzel Ward, the No. 4 pick in the draft by the Cleveland Browns.
Comparisons to LeBron?
So Bosa will be the face of the OSU defense this season. At the very least, fans should see his face more.
His playing time will be scrutinized this season in Ohio perhaps at the level LeBron James was when he played for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
With LeBron, who is approaching his 16th year in the NBA and now with the Los Angeles Lakers, there was fear of overuse. The fear with Bosa is that he’ll be underused.
Johnson would like to set minds at ease.
“We’re going to play him more than we played him last year,” Johnson said. “He averaged about 52 plays last year. That number may go up to 60 or 65. It depends on the game. The one thing we won’t do is overuse him in the sense that we want him to be fresh for the fourth quarter. We don’t want to put 80 to 85 plays on his body every game because you get to the end of the season, he’ll be worn out.
“In big games, of course, he’ll play a lot of football because that’s what we want him to do, but the key is to go into the fourth quarter at his best. What I won’t do is substitute (for him) in the red zone or in goal line situations. We’ll do it in the middle of the field to give him a chance to catch his breath. But when the game’s on the line, Nick Bosa will be on the field.”
When the country last saw him, Bosa and his cohorts were sacking quarterback Sam Darnold eight times in the Buckeyes’ 24-7 Cotton Bowl win over USC. Bosa had two of the sacks and believes there is plenty from that performance that can be carried into this season even though much of that defensive personnel is gone.
His position coach agrees.
“There’s a lot to look at from that game,” Johnson said. “When we use our technique – I call it the tool box – when you grab that tool box and use the skill set you’ve been taught, it’s amazing what you can do. In that game, you could see inside the tool box. Every skill set we teach, you could see it on the field.
“That’s the really great lesson for our young players, to give them confidence. If you do what we ask you to do, there’s a really good chance you’ll be successful. It’s a really good yardstick going into the season.”
While the OSU offense breaks in new starting quarterback Dwayne Haskins to team with a veteran receiving corps and one of the nation’s best tailback tandems in J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber, Bosa is excited about the revamped defensive line.
Chase Young is a budding star at end and tackle Dre’Mont Jones would have been a high pick had he declared for the draft this year.
“I feel like that (USC) game, for me, personally, I just let it all go,” Bosa said. “If I could do that every game (this) year, with the improved skill set I’m going to have, and certainly being in better shape, playing more plays, I think it could be a really good year for me.”
Bosa was the only Buckeye to grade as a “champion” in all 12 wins last season, but his impact was never felt more than in a 55-24 loss to huge underdog Iowa. He was ejected for targeting in the second quarter and on the very next play, the Hawkeyes scored on a 25-yard touchdown pass to break a 17-17 tie, triggering a runaway.
Johnson acknowledged that the rest of the defense might have felt sorry for itself after Bosa exited and the turnover-plagued Buckeyes could not get out of their own way. That lopsided loss killed OSU’s chances of making the College Football Playoff despite those 12 wins and its first Big Ten Championship since 2014.
This season, Bosa plans to do everything in his power to deliver the Buckeyes to the CFP for the third time since the Buckeyes won the inaugural title in 2014. He certainly carries considerable clout with the online sports book Bovada. In mid-June it posted the betting odds of 30 Heisman Trophy hopefuls. Bosa and Houston lineman Ed Oliver were the only defensive players listed.
No defensive player, who played that side of the ball exclusively, has ever won the Heisman. Why not Nick?
“It’s all about how we play this year and how the unit plays,” he said. “I wouldn’t be able to get the stats to even be in that conversation if I didn’t have a bunch of guys who are going to have a big year, too. It’s not just me, it’s definitely the whole unit. I’m just focused on (preseason) workouts and staying healthy. Everything else will take care of itself.”
He doesn’t run from comparisons to his brother the way quarterbacks run from the Bosas. Nick, like Joey, wears No. 97 for Ohio State. Nick adopted Joey’s celebratory shoulder shrug after sacks. Off the field they are both as mellow as can be.
“Joey was very reserved and quiet, but when he hit the football field the guy changed,” Johnson said. “But what I saw more than anything was how passionate he was about being a great football player. There wasn’t a moment he wasn’t working to be the best in the weight room, in the training room and on the football field. That stood out to me.
“And Nick is the exact same way.”
Except for that “light years” difference.
“A lot of people would be super self-conscious about everything … ‘I’ve got to be as good as him. I’ve got to be Defensive Player of the Year’ … blah, blah, blah,” Nick said. “I don’t really think about comparisons. I just try to make my own name, and I think I’ve done that pretty well so far.”