Following Their Examples
It is rare that a team can lose three starting defensive ends in one offseason, and rarer still when people are excited about the talent that still remains.
Ohio State will put three former 5-star defensive ends on the field this spring in Nick Bosa, Chase Young, and Jonathon Cooper, which would be the envy of most of the nation.
Young and Cooper are expected to step in and become part of the rotation in 2018 because not only are they very talented, but departed defensive ends Sam Hubbard, Tyquan Lewis, and Jalyn Holmes did a fantastic job of setting the youngsters up for success.
“I think they’ve done a really good job,” Young said recently. “When I got here, I was a really immature guy practice-wise and stuff. Sam, especially Sam, we call Sam “Superbowl Sam,” and that’s because he does everything right. He hustles to the ball on every single play. There’s things like that, the small things that I try to pick up on from him.
“I study and watch film of what to look for in the tackle and write notes down. I think the thing I learned from Tyquan was mentality-wise, just knowing that you are the best one on the field. And if you see Tyquan, he thinks he’s the best on the field, and that’s how he plays.”
Winter Wonderland
The Buckeyes are now in the weight room limbo of pre-spring football. They are still working plenty hard, but there is no practice going on. Instead, the workouts are designed to bridge the gap from bowl practices to spring camp. They are far from easy, and very productive.
Nick Bosa has some specific goals for the winter.
“Just getting flexible, staying healthy obviously,” he said. “Over the season your body breaks down and you see the body wither away a little bit. So just getting that pump back up and getting big again. It’s going to feel good.”
With the belief that this will be Bosa’s last season as a Buckeye, he has approached this offseason differently than in the past.
“Yeah, no doubt,” he said. “It could be my last opportunity to go play for a national championship and I’ve never done that. It’s definitely all out this year.”
Not Jumping to a Conclusion
When Mike Weber decided to return for his redshirt junior season rather than enter the NFL Draft, he made the correct decision, but it was still a decision that surprised some people.
Weber entered 2017 expecting it to be his final season as a Buckeye, but injuries kept him from having the kind of season that he wanted. After conversations with Urban Meyer, it was the possibilities of what he could become in 2018 that brought him back.
“I made a big jump from my freshman year to my sophomore year,” he said. “I got a lot faster and stronger, everything. His message was just to enhance that and go harder and get even better. Anybody can always get better. He never really said anything specifically, he just told me to keep doing what I’m doing and I’ll be successful.”
That doesn’t mean the decision was easy. It was still very difficult for Weber to put the NFL on hold.
“It was. Especially coming from where I came from,” he said. “But I feel like I’m better doing what was out there for me. I think another year could help that. It could make it even better.”