“He’s an absolute monster, and I think he’s light years ahead of any spot I ever got to in college,” former Ohio State and current Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa said of his younger brother and current Buckeye, Nick, during his appearance on NFL Network on Tuesday night.
That’s extremely high praise coming from someone who was a two-time consensus All-American, two-time all-Big Ten performer, two-time Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and national champion; finished his career in the Top 5 in several statistical categories, including sacks and tackles for a loss; and was drafted third overall in 2016. But the younger Bosa also has a chance to cement his standing among the best defensive linemen in school history with a stellar junior season that will undoubtedly end with a high selection in next year’s NFL Draft — maybe even the first pick overall.
Through just two seasons in Columbus, Nick has similar accolades to his brother despite not quite having the same opportunity. Joey started 37 games in three seasons at Ohio State, while Nick has just seven starts to his name as he's rotated with Jayln Homes, Sam Hubbard and Tyquan Lewis the last two years.
With that trio off to the NFL, Nick will see the field even more.
“So people will see,” Joey continued. “He hasn’t had too much playing time over the last two years, because of the seniors they’ve had and the older guys. But once he gets his full reign this year, people will understand what he’s capable of, which is it’s going to be pretty scary to watch."
The Bosas are already in rarefied air, as they joined Archie and Ray Griffin; Jack and Dean Dugger; and Lin and Jim Houston as the fourth pair of brothers to earn first-team All-American honors with the Buckeyes. Archie is the only two-time Heisman Trophy winner in college football history, which gives the Griffins a very distinct edge as the best tandem in program history.
Bosa has (at least) one year to add a few more accolades to the family trophy case, though. And if he can lead Ohio State to a national championship this fall, one could probably make the argument that two team titles outweigh a pair of individual trophies.
With that said, there have been nearly 40 sets of brothers who were letterwinners for the Buckeyes. They are listed below with the year(s) they lettered:
- ROBERT AND ROBIN BELL (1925-27)
- SEAN (1985-87) AND TODD BELL (1977-80)
- GREG (1993-96) AND STEVE BELLISARI (1998-2001)
- DALE (1947) AND DAVID BONNIE (1946-47)
- JUSTIN (2009-10), ZACH (2009-12) AND JACOBY BOREN (2013-15)
- JOE (1955-57) AND MIKE CANNAVINO (1946-48)
- HAROLD* AND HOWARD COURTNEY (1915-17)
- MARTIN (1977) AND PETE* CUSICK (1972-74)
- JEFF (1986-89) AND JIM* (1985) DAVIDSON
- JIM (1979-81) AND TOM* DELEONE (1969-71)
- JACK* (1942-44) AND DEAN* DUGGER (1952-54)
- FRANKIN (1955-56) AND RICHARD ELLWOOD (1949-50)
- GEORGE (1950) AND ROBERT ENDRES (1951)
- JIM (1979-82) AND SHAUN GAYLE (1980-83)
- REGGIE (1986) AND RORY GRAVES (1983-85)
- ARCHIE* (1972-75), DUNCAN (1975-78) AND RAY* GRIFFIN (1974-77)
- ANTHONY (1993-96) AND JAYSON GWINN (1993)
- LESLIE (1947-49) AND THOMAS HAGUE (1952-53)
- ADAM (2009-12) AND ROSS HOMAN (2006-10)
- BOB (1993-96) AND KEVIN HOUSER (1996-99)
- JIM* (1957-59) AND LIN* (1941-42) HOUSTON
- BOB (1993-95) AND TOM HOYING (1996-97)
- JOHN (1933-35) AND MICHAEL KABEALO (1936-38)
- DICK (1968-70) AND KEN KUHN (1972-75)
- JIM* (1981-84) AND RON LACHEY (1989)
- CURT (2005) AND RYAN LUKENS (2007)
- PAUL (1954-56) AND RICHARD MICHAEL (1958-59)
- JOHN (1927-28) AND WILLIAM NESSER (1928-29)
- GREG (1984-87) AND PAT ROGAN (1988)
- JAMES (1966-68) AND NICHOLAS ROMAN (1966-69
- ANDY (1939-40) AND JOHN ROSEN (1941)
- EINO (1940) AND ESCO* SARKKINEN (1937-39)
- ALEXANDER (1936-38) AND LEON SCHOENBAUM (1941)
- BRIAN (1989-92) AND CHRIS STABLEIN (1989-90)
- MARK (1979-80, MIKE AND JOHN SULLIVAN (1985-88)
- TERRY (1977-78) AND TIM VOGLER (1975-78)
- FRANK (1917, 1919-20) AND SAMUEL WILLAMAN (1911-13)
- HARRY* (1920, 1922-23) AND NOEL WORKMAN (1920-21)
- LEO (1914-15) AND SOL YASSENOFF (1913-14)
*All-American selection
Former All-American safety Malik Hooker and his younger brother, Marcus; starting long snapper Liam and his younger brother, Roen; and offensive tackle Max Wray and his younger brother, Jake, have a chance to add to this list in the coming years.
