INDIANAPOLIS — Six months ago, Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa’s season abruptly ended due to an injury in the Buckeyes’ third game of the season against TCU. Shortly after, he made the decision to withdraw from OSU and focus on his rehabilitation in order to be ready for the 2019 NFL Combine and the NFL Draft.
Fast forward to March, and Bosa is now at the 2019 NFL Combine, quite healthy, and ready to prove himself for the next level.
“I’ve been talking myself up good to [NFL teams], so I’m definitely ready to get on the field, get on the bench tonight, and leave no doubt,” Bosa said on Saturday.
The process, from re-learning basic movements to being able to participate in every event at the Combine, has been a tough one for Bosa. He knew from the beginning that the road he had always dreamed of traveling was not going to be smooth.
In that TCU game, Bosa suffered a bilateral core muscle injury to his groin and lower abdomen area. This injury occurs when the rectus abdominus or adductor muscles are torn off the pubic bone.
The surgery he had for this injury required the surgeon to repair both sides of the muscle to avoid future risk of injury to the weaker side. Although Bosa said he didn’t feel an injury on the other side, they had to go in and clean everything up.
“Right when I went down with it, I felt it. I knew,” he said. “I know what a serious injury is and I knew my season was in jeopardy and I had a doctor confirm that.”
The first night, however, was eye opening.
“When I got home from that TCU game I was laying in bed and I could barely get up,” he said. “It was one of the darkest moments in my life so far.”
He knew that picking himself back up again and starting the healing process would be the most challenging part of it all.
“It’s such a unique injury,” he said. “It’s the muscle you use to breath, to cough, to go to the bathroom. It’s literally your core muscle.”
He described the process of very gradual and slow steps of progress as frustrating. Bosa had gotten off to a great start before he got hurt and he knew that it was his year to shine.
“It was the year that I had been waiting for my whole career,” he said. “I split reps my freshman and sophomore year. Coming in I was going to be the guy. I started strong the first three games and then it just got torn away from me. It’s something I will always think back to. It’s tough.”
In getting through the process, he relied on the strength of his family.
“For me to just talk to my family and let them bring me up and just know that my life is still good and I still have amazing blessings and a bright future, that’s what helped me get through it,” he said.
Now, he has no concerns that the injury will flare back up. He has been back to 100 percent and feeling like himself for a few weeks.
While the injury was the toughest thing he has ever had to overcome, he is now ready to shine at the event he has been preparing for ever since he made the difficult decision to leave Ohio State.
“I’m feeling better than I’ve ever felt right now,” he said.
Good luck! Not gonna happen, but it’s fun imagining him on the opposite side as his brother on the line.