In case you've been living under a rock, it's Nick Bosa day at Eleven Warriors. The five-star defensive end and younger brother of Ohio State All-American Joey Bosa committed to the Buckeyes Thursday, choosing to head to Columbus instead of a multitude of big schools in the south including Florida, Florida State, Miami and Alabama.
Bosa's commitment's sent shockwaves across the country, boosting Ohio State's 2016 class to No. 1 overall according to all three major recruiting websites. Though Joey probably won't be around when he comes to campus next year — instead heading to the NFL after his junior year — the smaller bear's impact is palpable, for obvious reasons. He's a big-time talent, and needless to say, people are stoked.
Such star power brings all sorts of attention, but Nick Bosa joined former Buckeye linebacker Bobby Carpenter and radio personality Anthony Rothman Thursday afternoon on 97.1 The Fan to talk his commitment, what he's like compared to his brother and the unworldly expectations that are bound to come with his arrival to campus next summer.
Below is the Q & A with the future Buckeye. Full audio can be found here.
How different are you from your brother Joey? Or are you really exactly the same?
"Definitely not exactly the same, but there’s a lot of things alike. I don't know, what makes me different? That's a tough first question."
Well, did you fight growing up? What does he like that you don't like?
"I think I’m a nicer guy. I think he’s more sensitive, but I’m a nicer guy, for sure."
Joey's hair became quite a spectacle last season. Are you going to continue the Bosa trend of slicked back hair in Columbus?
"I wish I had his hair. My hair is a little curly, so I can’t, I don't think I’ll be pulling off the flow in Columbus. That's something different."
Was the pull of continuing your family's great tradition at Ohio State too much to overcome? What was the big draw for you?
"Definitely seeing him with his success helped my decision, because the scheme that they run allows him to move around and make plays. I think I can be effective in the same way. Just the relationships with the coaches that I've made over the past years with Coach Johnson and Coach Meyer and Coach Fickell. They’re all really good dudes and it feels like home there."
You obviously have family ties to Columbus with your brother playing at Ohio State now and your uncle (Eric Kumerow, a former Buckeye linebacker) in the past, but coming all the way up from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is a big move. What helps set Ohio State apart? Any worry about going so far away from where you grew up?
"I mean, I’d be willing to go to Oregon if that was the place for me. But it doesn’t really matter the distance, it’s where you're happy and whatever team is going to make me the best I can be. And that’s Ohio State."
Any worry about the cold weather then?
"I don’t want to think about that. I don’t want to think about that. I'll be fine."
What has opened your eyes the most about the improvement your brother has made from being a high school stud to perhaps the best defensive player in college football? Where do you believe he's made the biggest strides?
"Just everything. When he came into Ohio State, Coach Johnson showed me film, he was obviously a physical beast and that’s he he made his plays freshman year. But the development with his flexibility, pass rushing moves, he’s really become an NFL-caliber player this past year and it shows in his stats last year."
Joey's success came with his patented shoulder shrug celebration-is that something that you're going to continue? Or do you have your own celebration that you've got packed away and ready to release next year?
"No (laughs). I did it a couple times in the state championship but I think I'm going to leave that to him and figure out my own thing."
You've been now tabbed as the highest rated commitment in the Urban Meyer era at Ohio State. What kind of expectation does that put on you?
"Definitely a lot of expectation. But I’m just trying to go to work hard and hopefully live up to those expectations."
You must have been inundated with in-state recruiting pressures from schools like Florida State and Florida, correct?
"Yeah, I just got back from a visit at Florida and Florida State. Definitely been recruiting me hard."
How big of a sell job did they give you? How tough was it to leave the state even though you know your brother's here?
"Just visiting, I visited, I wanted to make sure I got to visit both schools. I wanted to see if the place for me was in Florida. But I just think it's easy when you know, and I knew after the visits that Ohio was the place to go."
Do you think there will be a ton of pressure to live up to the statue of your brother?
"Of course. I’m sure there will be a lot. He’s an amazing player. If I can be anywhere close to as good he is then I’ll be happy."
Anyone down in the state of Florida or anyone else you know that might be looking at Ohio State who haven't committed anywhere yet? If so, are you going to start lobbying those guys to get them up to Columbus?
"Yeah, definitely, recruiting starts now. Because if I want to have the best team, I gotta help out myself. One kid on my team, Trevon Grimes, a receiver, he's looking at Ohio State right now. I'm definitely trying to push him towards Ohio. Other than that, not many people want to leave Florida to go up to Ohio, but I'll definitely try and recruit some kids."
With all the hype surrounding you, how do you think you're equipped to handle that expectation?
"I think physically and mentally I’m good enough to be a top player in college, but I really won’t know until I get out there and play against top competition. The expectations are high, of course, they have to be, but we’ll see."
Talk about your relationship with Coach Meyer. How did he sell you? What impressed you the most about him?
"Just him and Coach Johnson are really genuine guys and everything they say is real and you could tell by how they say it. They just told me that if I come to Ohio State, I will become the best that I can be and that’s what I’m looking to do."
What's the best advice your brother has given you throughout this process?
"We actually talked last night and he said ... Well I was talking about FSU and Ohio State because I was questioning what I wanted to do. I looked at what I liked more about FSU and I looked more about what I liked about Ohio State and all the important things that actually matter were at Ohio State. And he told me that. All the facilities and partying and all that stuff are not the important stuff. The important stuff is relationships with the coaches and just football. That helped me a lot to make my decision."
