Last week, Ohio State sophomore defensive end Nick Bosa was named a First-Team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association, and when he was, he joined his brother Joey in being the second pair of brothers in OSU football history to be named All-American.
Archie (1973-75) and Ray Griffin (1977) were the first pair of brothers, and now the Bosa boys have unsurprisingly become the second.
This means that Nick Bosa will be getting a tree in Buckeye Grove, which is an honor bestowed on all First-Team All-American Buckeyes.
And what’s more, his tree will be next to his brother’s tree.
“It’s pretty cool. I get a tree next to Joey’s,” he said. “We already get the spot. It’s pretty awesome.”
The fact that Nick Bosa earned All-America status in his time is not a surprise, but what is a surprise is that it happened this year while he was splitting so many reps with several other defensive ends.
Bosa led the Buckeyes with 7.0 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss, which weren’t exactly eye-popping numbers when you look across the rest of the nation. However, when you take into account that he may have only played half of the snaps as everyone else, his numbers take on a bit more luster.
“None of us got as many reps as other players did across the country, but we just made the most of our reps,” he said. “Going against our offensive line I think is what really allowed me to be as good because they don’t go easy on you any day. You find new ways to get better every day.”
One of those guys he has gone against every day over his first two years is senior left tackle Jamarco Jones. Jones also played two years with Joey Bosa, so he is a pretty good judge of what it is like to go up against a Bosa brother.
What he has seen from Nick over these last two years has been impossible to ignore.
“Blocking a Bosa… Man, [Nick] is really good. I started noticing during bowl season last season that he was getting a lot better,” Jones said.
How does he compare to his brother?
“They’re much different rushers, but they both get to the quarterback,” he said.
“Joey was a little bit bigger. I think Joey, at least when he was here, he used a lot more power. Watching him in the NFL now, he’s doing all types of stuff. Nick, he’s just, his fundamentals are really good, so if you’re not sound every play, he’s going to be beat you because he’s really good with his hands.”
Regardless of how they did it, they were both productive enough to be named All-American, and now when Nick visits Buckeye Grove, he won’t have to stray very far from his own tree to see his brother’s.
I don’t know how he got AA either, bosa name, perhaps? With half as many snaps he should be twice as rested or half as fatigued as his peers. Should his numbers have been better?