Joey Bosa spent much of last weekend's season-opening win against Navy fighting off double teams and cut blocks, but when the game was tight, he still found a way to make a play.
With Ohio State trailing 7-6 early in the third quarter, Bosa broke through the line and hit Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds, simultaneously getting his hand on the ball as Reynolds tried to make a pitch. The ball hit the turf and Darron Lee proceeded to pick it up and run 61 yards the other way for a go-ahead touchdown.
“It was nice to get a little hand in there and knock the ball away," Bosa said. "It was just a rough game, team game, no individual accomplishments. We played well as a defense and that’s what we were looking to do.”
In the box score, Bosa had just three tackles against the Midshipmen. That was probably to be expected, though, as most of Ohio State's defensive linemen were being cut blocked as the ball was snapped due to Navy's triple-option offense.
That won't happen the rest of the season, however. Bosa and the rest of the defense are looking forward to getting back to what they do best: rushing the passer.
“It was not a fun game last week, I’m still feeling sore from it," Bosa said. "This week, we’ll get to rush the passer a little bit which we obviously love to do, so it’s a big week.”
Last year as a true freshman, Bosa exploded onto the scene. In a position where it's difficult to see early playing time because of the jump in strength between high school and college football, Bosa racked up 7.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss.
The Fort Lauderdale, Fla. native was named a freshman All-American by The Sporting News and was honorable mention all-Big Ten.
"we’ll get to rush the passer a little bit which we obviously love to do, so it’s a big week.”
So, what has Bosa done since last season to ensure he gets better?
“I think the thing that people don’t realize is that technique is really — you have to be sound in your technique no matter how good a player you are," Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson said. "I think the thing that he’s done this fall going into the season is that he’s really fundamentally sound in his stance, his alignment and those things really are the key for him going forward as a great player. He’s really bought in to being a really fundamentally sound football player."
With such success as a freshman, Bosa can expect to see more attention this season. It will be an adjustment, but one huge benefit he has is he plays on what could be one of the best defensive lines in all of college football.
If Bosa responds to the pressure, he could potentially be one of the best defensive ends in the country this season, Johnson says.
"He’s got an opportunity to, there’s a lot of football left to be played," he said. "He’s a marked guy because guys know who he is and he’ll get protection to him, he’ll get chipped, so there’s a lot of things heading into the season that he didn’t see last year. I think he has a chance to be all those things, but it’s just too early to determine where he’s gonna be.”
Bosa was not himself against the Midshipmen. None of the defensive linemen were. They couldn't be if the Buckeyes wanted to win that game.
Going forward, however, they'll have an opportunity to showcase their talents and it begins Saturday when Ohio State welcomes Virginia Tech to Ohio Stadium.
“We did nothing we’ve ever done before last week and now we’re getting back to our basics and everything we usually run," Bosa said. "It almost seems foreign after not doing it for so long, but we’re getting back used to it.”
