Joey Bosa didn't make the physical motion. Instead, Ohio State's All-American defensive end used his words to shrug off the question relating to his sack total through his first three games of the 2015 season.
"I think everyone has seen the other two that didn't count," Bosa joked following the Buckeyes' practice Wednesday evening. "Stats don’t really matter as long as we’re out there playing well.”
Ohio State is 4-0 as it prepares to travel to Indiana on Saturday to open Big Ten play. The Buckeyes will bring with them a defense that ranks in the Top 10 nationally in both yards allowed (6th, 253.3 per game) and points allowed (10th, 12.3 per game).
A large portion of the credit for the Ohio State's early-season success on the defensive side goes to the pass rush. The Buckeyes are tied for sixth in the country with 14 sacks through four games. Bosa, however, has contributed just half of a sack to that total.
There's no reason to be alarmed by that low total, though, head coach Urban Meyer said Wednesday. Because of Bosa's past success, he's seen a lot of teams scheme against him and send multiple blockers in his direction on passing downs.
“I think I’m going out there every week and trying to do my job as best as I possibly can to free up other guys just to play well as a defense. I think we’ve been doing that and when our defense plays well I think I’m playing well.”– Joey Bosa
"There's a lot of people occupying him right now," Meyer said. "I think he's played hard. I think he's graded a champion most times. ... I think he's playing his tail off."
In his All-American sophomore campaign in 2014, Bosa had 13.5 sacks which ranked fourth in the country. He was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and was a finalist for countless other defensive awards.
Bosa was also included on everybody's All-American list for the 2015 season. It's likely to be his last in Columbus, too, because as a draft-eligible junior, Bosa is widely projected to be a top-five selection in the 2016 NFL Draft. And despite low sack totals early on this season, those projections haven't gone away. Bosa is too good of an NFL prospect.
His teammates haven't noticed a huge sense of frustration, either, from their star defensive player.
"I don't think it's getting to him," senior defensive tackle Adolphus Washington said. "They're just scheming it up to where they're having two or three people blocking him at a time."
Odds are teams won't be able to keep Bosa under wraps for much longer. The 6-foot-6, 275-pounder is too talented. He's on the verge of breaking out, despite whatever schemes are being thrown his way.
Until that break out comes, though, Bosa is finding different ways to impact the game. Ohio State keeps winning games, too, which helps. And right now, that's all that matters to Bosa.
“I think I’m going out there every week and trying to do my job as best as I possibly can to free up other guys just to play well as a defense," Bosa said. "I think we’ve been doing that and when our defense plays well I think I’m playing well.”
