Ohio State Football: Nick Bosa is done, what it means for the Buckeyes
Nick Bosa has decided to end his Ohio State football career. Let’s take a look at what that means for the Buckeyes going forward.
It was announced today defensive end Nick Bosa’s Ohio State football career is over. As reported by Steve Helwagen of 247Sports he won’t be returning this season.
A muscle injury during the TCU game which required surgery has kept Bosa off the field the last four games. There has been a question whether he would play again this season as he is certain to be one of the top picks in next year’s NFL draft if he is completely healthy.
Now we have the answer.
What does that mean for the Ohio State defense? It means the rest of the players on the defensive line will have to fill a big void going into the stretch drive of the season.
In less than three games Bosa recorded 14 tackles with 6 for a loss and 4 sacks. The first three games of the season the defensive line had 10 of Ohio State’s 11 sacks.
The line has recorded 5.5 of the 13 sacks since. Defensive coordinator Greg Schiano has had to dial up blitzes more often instead of relying on the front four to pressure the quarterback.
With the struggles the Buckeyes have had defending the pass, I’m sure rushing a player or two from the back seven often isn’t exactly what coach Schiano would prefer to do.
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The line doesn’t seem to be getting into the backfield on running plays as often as when Bosa was in the lineup, although I don’t have stats to back that up that. But it just makes sense since the offensive line had to account for Bosa on every play because he could disrupt a run as well as get after the quarterback.
Going forward, defensive linemen are simply going to have to step up their games. I’m confident Dre’Mont Jones, Chase Young and Robert Landers (when healthy) will play well. However, they can only do so much so it will be important for other players to make an impact, especially the defensive ends playing on the opposite side of the line from Young.
There are players with the potential to fill in nicely at that spot. Jonathon Cooper, Jashon Cornell, Tyreke Smith and Tyler Friday were all highly rated recruits and all have had some success so far. Those ends will now have their chance to shine, and if they do it will lessen the impact of losing Bosa.
dark. Next. Can Buckeyes make the playoff with these issues?
It’s certainly never a good thing to lose one of the best players in the country but all is not lost. Larry Johnson has plenty of talent to work with to get the defensive line situation corrected before the stretch drive, and there isn’t a better defensive line coach in the country to make it happen.