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Ohio State ’15 Player Profile: Joey Bosa

By Stephen Forsha

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The Ohio State Buckeyes are the favorite to win their second consecutive College Football National Championship this upcoming season, a feat the school has never accomplished.

One of, or maybe even the biggest reason for that prediction by many in the media and in college football in general is Ohio State junior defensive end Joey Bosa, and what he brings to the table for the Buckeyes in 2015.

Bosa (6-5, 278 pounds) has two seasons of collegiate football under his belt, a national title and other individual awards, but the crazy aspect of Bosa’s game is none of us have seen his best yet, which is saying something.

In year three with the Buckeyes there is a feeling we are going to seen an even better player than last season, and for the rest of the Big Ten that means coaches and players will have some sleepless nights this fall.

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Bosa in ’14 totaled 55 tackles (39 solo) with 21 of those going for a loss. The best defensive end in all of college football also had 13.5 sacks, one touchdown and four forced fumbles.

In both of his collegiate seasons Bosa has scored a touchdown. In his ’13 season with the Buckeyes, Bosa began to make a name for himself with 44 total tackles (29 solo) as 13.5 of those were for a loss. He also had 7.5 sacks and the aforementioned touchdown score.

Also in his two years on the field at Ohio State, Bosa has one fumble recovery in each season.

In ’14 he was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and that same season his sack numbers were fifth best in the nation, and first in the Big Ten. Currently Bosa for his career is sixth in the Big Ten with 21 total.

Just what can we expect from Bosa this season? This will most likely his final collegiate season with the Buckeyes, as Bosa is currently projected to be a Top 5 draft choice in the 2016 NFL Draft.

Sep 27, 2014; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes defensive lineman Joey Bosa (97) celebrates after forcing a turnover that led to a safety by the Cincinnati Bearcats at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

In April, Bill Bender of the Sporting News wrote about how Bosa could, in fact, be a top draft selection in the draft depending on how well he does this upcoming season.

"“Bender wrote: With talk like that, it’s impossible not to gauge Bosa’s potential NFL Draft stock heading into 2016. Could Bosa land No. 1? Is Bosa another Clowney? Another J.J. Watt?“The last three defensive ends to go No. 1 were Brown (2000), Mario Williams (2006) and Clowney (2013). Bosa will have to produce at least double-digit sacks just to stay in that conversation.”"

At the collegiate all three of those aforementioned players were great, but with that said I believe Bosa will join that group of players with his play this upcoming season, because thus far in his career the defensive end has given none of us a reason not to believe otherwise.

Even the NFL’s home site, NFL.com has taken notice of Bosa as a player to watch this season. Given that he’s on the reigning national champions, my guess Bosa will be watched by many in the NFL circles on fall Saturday afternoons and evenings.

Lance Zierlein of NFL.com had this to say about Bosa:

"“Bosa is a well-proportioned end who can play with good edge-setting strength or with a degree of slipperyness to slide off of blocks and make plays. Few ends play with as much defensive awareness as Bosa or with the level of coordination he has between his hands and feet. One thing to watch, however, is whether or not Bosa can improve his edge burst, as that will be extremely critical for NFL success.”"

Even by saying Bosa needs to improve on his edge burst, Zierlein still has Bosa as the second-rated best edge rusher on his list. Only Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett is ahead of Bosa in that category. Think about it, if Bosa does improve his edge game, how many players will be able to contain him at the collegiate level?

The answer is not many.

Ohio State football fans have someone really special to watch in Bosa, and just from his usual progression from year one to year two, I believe this time we’ll see even better numbers from the defensive end, which must be a scary thought for those on the Buckeyes’ schedule in ’15.

Heck, I’m even a little scared just thinking about it, but from what we’ve seen from Bosa in the past, he’ll just give a “shrug,” do his job and continue to play the games.

Next: OSU Football: The case for J.T. Barrett

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