Nick Bosa leaves Ohio State to prep for NFL Draft, but Buckeyes can still win it all

Nick Bosa will not return to the Ohio State Buckeyes later this year as he recovers from surgery and instead will focus on preparing for the NFL Draft.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are the No. 2 team in the country and have an undefeated record, but it hasn’t been a dream season for Urban Meyer’s team. The biggest on-field problem was the injury to All-American defensive end, Nick Bosa, who suffered a core muscle injury during the win vs. TCU in Week 3. Bosa initially was ruled out indefinitely, but Bosa has withdrawn from Ohio State to focus on preparing for the 2019 NFL Draft.

Bosa is projected to be one of, if not the top pick in the 2019 NFL Draft so from his perspective it makes a lot of sense for him to take all the necessary time to recover from the surgery to make sure he is healthy enough to go through all the workouts at the scouting combine in February so he can present himself as the best available prospect for the April draft.

From the Ohio State standpoint, this is a disappointing development because he’s their best player and the Buckeyes will need him, especially for the game against Michigan, a presumptive Big Ten Championship Game and the College Football Playoff.

With Bosa, Ohio State can beat Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame or whoever else they may face in the Playoff. Without Bosa, that challenge becomes that much more difficult. Ohio State has been prone to giving up the big play, as was seen against TCU after Bosa was injured and vs. Penn State when the Nittany Lions allowed Trace McSorley to have a career day, albeit in a loss.

The good thing is Ohio State is ridiculously talented on both sides of the ball and quarterback Dwayne Haskins is playing out of his mind as one of the two or three best quarterbacks in the country. The bad thing is Ohio State fans won’t get to see Bosa doing damage because he’s one of the few defensive players in America who is worth the price of admission.

Before the injury, Bosa already had four sacks and caused a lot of havoc, scoring a touchdown on a fumble recovery and forcing another fumble that was recovered for an Ohio State touchdown. Even when he wasn’t getting a sack, he was commanding attention from opposing offenses who had to scheme away from him. That added attention paid to Bosa allowed the other members of the line to get one-on-one blocking.

Now that teams know Bosa won’t be back, there isn’t one alpha who has that type of effect. It likely won’t hurt Ohio State to not have Bosa until they meet Michigan. The silver lining is Ohio State has experience playing without Bosa and will have a few more weeks to adapt to life without Bosa knowing he won’t be walking through that door to provide a boost late in the year.

I still think Ohio State wins the Big Ten and makes the Playoff, but their title chances are certainly hurt without Bosa, one of the best players in the nation.

And I don’t want to hear any talk about Bosa being selfish by making this decision. I understand the frustration that comes with not seeing a player you enjoy watching and the potential negative ramifications it’ll have on the season. But Bosa has to think for himself and his long-term future. He can’t risk jeopardizing his rehab to come back early to play Michigan and risk re-aggravating the injury which would then keep him out for the postseason and derail the NFL Draft prep.

As a potential top-five pick, there is $30 million hanging in the balance. If you were in his shoes, you’d be doing the same thing as Bosa.