The No. 1 player on this list came to Ohio State with expectations that nobody could have possibly lived up to…except probably for him.
No. 1 — Nick Bosa, Jr. Defensive End
Ninety days or so ago, Nick Bosa was deemed by an esteemed panel of voters to be the 21st-greatest Buckeye in The-Ozone Era, which dates all the way back to 1996. Bosa, who has only played two seasons and whose best is yet to come, may be under-ranked by the time his junior season is over. Heck, he may be under-ranked right now.
Nick Bosa has had to deal with expectations at every level of football because of his family name, and he successfully piloted that path every step of the way.
As a true freshman in 2016, Bosa — fresh off of an ACL tear that cost him his senior season of high school — worked his way into Ohio State’s 4-man defensive end rotation with Tyquan Lewis, Sam Hubbard, and Jalyn Holmes, and he was never out of place in that grouping.
Bosa finished second on the team with 5.0 sacks and sixth with 7.0 tackles for loss. He was named a Freshman All-American after the season.
As a sophomore, he set new career marks across the board. He led the Buckeyes with 16.0 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks and was named a First-Team All-American and Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year, just as his brother Joey Bosa was as a sophomore.
What can Nick Bosa do for an encore? Probably whatever he wants.
Statistical History
What He Does Well
Nick Bosa does everything well. If I had to guess, I’d say he played about 50-60% of the snaps last season and was still able to do what he did numbers-wise.
He is the most worrisome pass rusher in the Big Ten. Bosa has the best coaching and the best football upbringing, and he has only used that to his advantage. He has never thought of himself as a finished product, so when you are thinking about what he does well, don’t forget how hard he works to improve his overall game.
Bosa plays under control for the most part, which helps him set an edge against both the run and a running quarterback. He is not flawless, just very productive on almost every play. And he is relentless. The only plays he takes off are the ones he is watching from the sidelines.
He is as familiar with the backfield as the referees standing behind the quarterbacks.
Nick Bosa in 2018
Bosa is excited for 2018 because he is going to play more than he did last year, and that’s pretty bad news for opposing offenses. Next to him will be Dre’Mont Jones or some other former blue-chipper or future NFL’er.
Joey Bosa’s junior season did not have the sack numbers — just five (and 16.0 tackles for loss) — but it would be pretty surprising to see Nick Bosa double-teamed like his brother was in 2015.
If he does get double-teamed all season long, then Chase Young and Dre’Mont Jones may need to be higher on this list.
What They Are Saying
“You are looking at a really great athlete. He has great leverage, can bend well, has great balance. To find a guy at that weight who can bend as well as he can bend, and has great hand-eye coordination so that he can catch an offensive lineman, which is something not common to do, but Nick can do it. He has an ability to really attack their weakness. That is what Nick does. Every weakness, he is going to attack it. He will attack it until you take it away, then he will go to something else.” — Defensive line coach Larry Johnson
“I think they are different and similar, and there is nothing wrong with that. They are both from the same genes. Nick is probably not as tall as Joey, but Nick is more dense because he is not as tall. There are similarities, but they both have the same qualities. To me, it’s where do you go? Where does Nick go from here? Can we make that much improvement? Joey made a jump from his sophomore to junior year. He took off. Now, can Nick make that same improvement going into his junior year?” — Larry Johnson
Looking forward to see what Nick can do as a full time starter. He and Chase Young could go down as one of the greatest DE pairs in Buckeye history (and there have been a lot good pairs). I think the kid Gary at michigan or the kid at Clemson will probably go higher, but he is a top 15 pick for sure IF he continues to progress.
That said, if Johnathan Cooper reaches his potential this year and the DL rotation holds up this year’s DL could be better than last year.