INDIANAPOLIS — When Nick Bosa gingerly walked to the Ohio State locker room at AT&T Stadium during the third quarter of the TCU game, it sent a shiver down the spine of Buckeyes fans and coaches — and general managers of the NFL’s worst teams.
Would Ohio State’s season tumble, and could the presumptive No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL draft face a long recovery?
The answers are complicated — OSU finished 13-1 in a drama-filled season, and Bosa didn’t train at full speed until January — but his status as the draft’s crown jewel has not changed. Unless the Arizona Cardinals trade the No. 1 overall pick, Bosa’s name will be called first by commissioner Roger Goodell.
“It would be a dream come true,” Bosa said. “It would mean so much to me to be thought of as the best player in the draft.”
Bosa met with the Cardinals here Sunday at the NFL scouting combine, and he told reporters the franchise would be making a “big mistake” if he wasn’t their pick. His combine performance did nothing but further cement his placement atop mock drafts.
A 4.79 40-yard dash, 29 reps of 225 pounds in the bench press, 33½-inch vertical jump, and 116-inch broad jump all were among the best at his position. Bosa’s prospect grade attached to his online combine profile is 6.52: chance to become Pro Bowl-caliber player.
“To me, he’s a complete player and the most complete player in this entire draft class,” ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said. “He reminds me of his brother. Sometimes watching tape I feel like I’m watching Joey. The hand technique, the leverage with which he plays, the ability to rush.
“He just understands the position. Plus, the motor — I love Nick Bosa’s motor. He plays so hard. That’s why I think it’s a joke when people come out and say, ‘He quit on the team; he doesn’t love the game.’ This guy is a competitor. He’s going to give you everything he has.”
The 6-foot-4, 266-pound Bosa, a physical specimen with sublime edge-rushing speed, cut his junior season short at the TCU game, ultimately choosing to leave Ohio State in October. He suffered a bilateral core muscle injury, underwent surgery Sept. 20, and rehabbed for months in southern California.
There was a smattering of criticism aimed at Bosa, a captain and perhaps the team’s most influential voice, for opting to not only shut it down for the season but to withdraw from the university.
“I felt it,” he said, recalling the TCU game. “I know what a serious injury is. I knew my season was in jeopardy.”
Bosa comes from a family of first-round draft picks. His father, John, was taken 16th overall in the 1987 draft; his uncle, Eric Kumerow, who played at Ohio State, was the 16th overall pick the next year; and his brother, Joey, was selected third overall in 2016. All three were defensive ends.
The hype for Nick started when he was just a sophomore in high school. His brother already was projected to be a high first-round draft pick and recruiting analysts said Nick was better than Joey. They might have been right in their assessment.
In 30 career games, Nick had 29 tackles for loss, 17½ sacks, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. He only played three games in 2018 and still was named Big Ten honorable mention, because he finished with six tackles for loss, four sacks, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries.
“It was the year that I been waiting for my whole career,” Nick said. “It just got torn away from me. It’s something that I’ll always think back to.”
But Nick has a long way to go to one-up his brother in the NFL — Joey set a record by recording 19 sacks in his first 20 games.
The Cardinals are looking up at the Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, and San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West. What those teams have in common is superstar quarterbacks: Jared Goff, Russell Wilson, and Jimmy Garoppolo. An effective edge rusher would be an asset in slowing down the high-powered offenses.
Former Ohio State linebackers coach Bill Davis, who now coaches the same position at Arizona, said he would hand the card to the commissioner right now. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph didn’t disagree.
“It’s not my pick,” Joseph said. “But obviously, being a defensive guy, you want to help your defense.”
Draft analysts have been in agreement the bust factor with Nick is minimal. Worries about the injury are misplaced, because surgery usually prevents any repeat. Nick said he’s been 100 percent for a few weeks, and his combine workout alleviated concerns about his recovery.
“I don’t have as much tape as some people,” Nick said. “But clearly my tape was enough to get me this far. I’m going to show it this year as a rookie. I didn’t get to show as much as I wanted at Ohio State. It was very short, but I’ve got a lot of football to play in my career.”
First Published March 4, 2019, 3:21 p.m.