Multiple times throughout fall camp, Joey Bosa was always one of, if not the last player on the Ohio State practice field.
No, he wasn't running wind sprints as a result of bad decisions he made in the offseason — though, surely, that happened this summer — he was getting extra work with position coach Larry Johnson.
"It sucks because you're missing it," Bosa said. "I was really excited to get out here and play this week."
And play he did, starting against Hawai'i in his team's 38-0 victory Saturday afternoon at Ohio Stadium. The 2014 All-American defensive end finished the day with just two tackles, but had a sack of Rainbow Warrior quarterback Max Wittek taken away by a defensive holding penalty.
"I was getting after him all day, he was just getting rid of the ball so quick," Bosa said of Wittek. "It was pretty frustrating. Still got there, so at least I got one shrug in."
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— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 12, 2015
The sack didn't count, but Bosa's trademark celebration helped represent his return from suspension for a violation of an Ohio State Athletic Department policy.
Bosa said "soon enough" to reporters 10 days ago when he walked through the Woody Hayes Athletic Center when they asked if he was ready to return to the lineup. He had to watch the Virginia Tech game from home Monday, along with three teammates — Dontre Wilson, Corey Smith and Jalin Marshall.
"Coach will tell you all the time, we're educators," Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Luke Fickell said Saturday. "Everybody sees the education you see on Saturday afternoons, but the reality is it's much greater than that. The education that we do, it's a process."
That process took a brief detour for Bosa and the others this summer and into fall, but as such a vital part of Ohio State's defense, the junior understands the gravity of his mistake.
"I wouldn't say I was embarrassed. Obviously, upset letting the team down," Bosa said. "It was hard, but it was easy to get over it because I had great guys around me. Just had go out to practice every day and work extra hard because I knew this week was coming."
The Buckeye defense as a whole stoned Hawai'i all afternoon, pitching a shutout and holding Wittek to just seven completions. He also threw two interceptions and fumbled once, looking all out of sorts the whole game. It was just the second time in Norm Chow's head coaching career his team failed to score a single point in a game.
"Ohio State has a great front four," Wittek told reporters after the game. "A lot of times they don’t need to blitz to get pressure."
Ohio State's defensive unit played well as a whole, but Bosa's presence didn't go unnoticed — it couldn't.
"Everybody felt Joey was there. He'll get his. It's coming," said linebacker Darron Lee, who had two sacks and forced a fumble. "He was standing over there on the sideline saying, 'I had a couple good moves.' I'm like, 'We have 13 more games to go. You'll get yours.'"
He's well on his way, and as a guy who's widely known as one of the top linemen in the country and a future first round NFL Draft pick, the extra work put in during his suspension can only help Bosa's plight to set the Ohio State single season sack record.
"It was hard, but it's over and now I'm back and it's exciting," Bosa said.
