Joey Bosa

High school career

Bosa attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He was rated by Rivals.com as a four-star recruit and was ranked as the fourth best defensive end in his class. Bosa committed to play college football at Ohio State University in April 2012.

College career

As a true freshman in 2013, Bosa started 10 of 14 games, recording 44 tackles and 7.5 sacks. He was named a freshman All-American by the Sporting News and College Football News. In 2014, Bosa was named a Unanimous First Team All-American, becoming the 27th Buckeye in 84 years to do so. He finished his sophomore year with 13.5 sacks on 55 tackles.

On July 30, 2015, it was announced that Bosa would be suspended from the first game of the 2015 season with three other Ohio State football players for undisclosed reasons. During his junior year, Bosa finished with five sacks and an interception on 47 tackles. On December 31, 2015, he announced his intentions to enter the 2016 NFL Draft.

During the 2016 Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame on January 1, 2016, Bosa was ejected in the first quarter for a targeting penalty when he made a hit on quarterback DeShone Kizer. Ohio State won the Bowl game by a score of 44–28. After his junior season, he entered the 2016 NFL Draft.

Bosa was a highly decorated Buckeye receiving National and Conference honors beginning his Freshman year. In 2013, Bosa was named a First Team Freshman All-American as well as selected to the Freshman All-Big Ten First Team. In 2014, his Sophomore year, he was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Big Ten Lineman of the Year, First Team All-American, and All-Big Ten, as well as a Lombardi Award Finalist. He repeated most of the honors his Junior year, falling short of claiming the Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year for the second time.

Professional career

In early March 2016, Bosa was predicted to be a top 10 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.

2016: Rookie year

Bosa was drafted in the first round (3rd overall) by the San Diego Chargers. He was the first of five Ohio State players to be drafted in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft, followed by Ezekiel Elliott, Eli Apple, Taylor Decker, and Darron Lee.

When he remained the last unsigned draft pick of his class due to contractual disputes with the team, Bosa's mother stated "I wish we pulled an Eli Manning on draft day", referring to the 2004 NFL Draft in which Manning, a highly touted prospect who was projected to get selected first overall by the Chargers, refused to play for San Diego and forced a draft-day trade to the New York Giants.

On August 24, 2016, the Chargers issued a press release stating that they had offered Bosa an initial signing bonus payment that was larger than any rookie has received in the last two NFL drafts, which was more money in 2016 than any rookie in his draft class except Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz. On August 29, 2016, Bosa signed a four-year contract with the team, ending the dispute.

Bosa missed the first four weeks of the season due to a hamstring injury. On October 9, Bosa made his regular season debut against AFC West rival Oakland Raiders. Although Bosa only played 27 snaps, he finished the game with two sacks, a hit, and four hurries. The following game against the Denver Broncos, he had one quarterback hit, five hurries, and a stop while also drawing double teams throughout the game. Bosa was named Defensive Rookie of the Month for October. Despite being limited to 12 games, Bosa finished his rookie year with 41 tackles, 10.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. He was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Bosa was ranked as the 100th best player in the league by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017.

Personal life

Joey Bosa's father, John Bosa, played in the National Football League from 1987 to 1989. His brother, Nick Bosa, currently plays defensive end for Ohio State University and also wears #97. Bosa's great-grandfather was Chicago mob boss Tony Accardo.