Nick Bosa’s decision to leave Ohio State will send ripple effects throughout college football

Nick Bosa is leaving Ohio State to focus on his rehab from surgery and prep for the NFL Draft in a decision that could become a trend in college football.

The biggest news in college football on Tuesday is coming out of Columbus where All-American defensive end Nick Bosa announced he is withdrawing from school to focus on his recovery from surgery to repair a core muscle and prep for the 2019 NFL Draft.

Bosa was injured in the Week 3 win over TCU and had surgery the next week. He was ruled out indefinitely with a potential return somewhere in late November. The early assumption was there was a chance he could return for Michigan and the postseason.

Those hopes are officially squashed with Bosa’s decision to make the smart business decision as a potential top pick that commands 25-plus million in guaranteed money. I’m not gonna fault Bosa for making this decision because he had to do what is right for him and his family. I think he made the smart decision to put his health first.

That said, I understand there will be much frustration surrounding Bosa’s decision. I don’t think, however, there will be much coming from the Ohio State coaches or Bosa’s teammates. Sure, they will miss not having him out on the field and coaching him, but they understand what’s at stake here and they will accept Bosa’s decision.

I think the Ohio State fans will be a little more upset, and again, they are entitled to feel that way, because they won’t get to see a team captain, All-American and potentially the best player in the nation doing work on Saturdays. That’s acceptable frustration from a fan, but this is not a selfish decision by Bosa to put himself ahead of his teammates. First, there was no guarantee he was going to be healthy enough to play later this year. But I do wonder if decisions like Bosa’s could soon become a trend in college football.

College football fans have already seen a recent trend with expected high draft picks electing to sit out their bowl games. Most famously, Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey sat out their team’s bowl games before becoming top 10 picks. In this instance, the season is already over and if it’s not for the national championship, there’s really nothing to play for outside of team pride. Tell that to former Notre Dame outside linebacker Jaylon Smith who played for Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl his junior year and suffered a devastating knee injury vs. Ohio State and is only just now returning to his pre-injury form with the Dallas Cowboys.

Prior to the injury, Smith was viewed as a potential top-five pick, instead, he dropped to the second round where the Cowboys rolled the dice and sat him his entire rookie year with the hope he could recover and return to the dynamic sideline-to-sideline player he was at Notre Dame.

Now imagine you’re a college football player like Bosa who has a chance to be a high first round pick and you’re suffering from an injury that requires surgery. Would you be more inclined to shut it down and get healthy so you are ready for the NFL combine and pre-draft workouts or would you rush your rehab, play through injury and risk your NFL future to play in a college game for free?

It’s easy to sit on the sidelines and second-guess Bosa for his decision, but it’s not your fortune you’d be sacrificing. It’s easy to call a player selfish when you don’t see the work he’s doing to get himself back to health because you’re mad he won’t play for the college team you root for. Walk a few steps in their shoes and it’s easy to see why more players like Bosa will be making business decisions like this to secure the bag rather than risk his professional career and earning power.

What’s really concerning is what this could mean if/when more players follow in his footsteps. It’ll hurt college football if more draft-eligible players decide to shut it down. Take for example, Alabama sophomore quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, who might be the Heisman winner this year, but isn’t eligible for the draft. What if Tagovailoa decides it’s just too risky to play on Saturday and he sits out the year to preserve himself for the Draft? What if the next Nick Chubb or Marcus Lattimore wants to avoid a catastrophic knee injury and sits out after securing their draft status?

I think it’s definitely a trend to monitor, because players sitting out bowl games was just the tip of the iceberg and we are beginning to see that now with Bosa’s decision that is absolutely the right decision for him, but will most assuredly send ripple effects throughout the rest of the sport.