Cardinals LB coach Davis gives inside track on Nick Bosa from time at OSU
Feb 12, 2019, 7:46 PM
File-This Sept. 8, 2018, file photo shows Ohio State defensive lineman Nick Bosa playing against Rutgers during an NCAA college football game in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File)
(AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File)
There is an obvious connection between a marquee name in the upcoming NFL Draft and the Arizona Cardinals’ coaching staff that does not include Kliff Kingsbury or Kyler Murray.
New linebackers coach Bill Davis held the same position at Ohio State the past two seasons, working on a defense that included the favorite to go No. 1 to the Cardinals in April — Nick Bosa.
Davis provided the inside track on the prospect he knows very well that he could wind up working more with in the future.
“Nick is a phenomenal worker, everything he puts in his body, his health,” he said Tuesday. “Really everything that the kid’s done has been in an effort to make his way to the NFL and follow his father and his older brother’s footsteps. Relentless worker, all about football, loves the game, loves his teammates.”
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. also mentioned Bosa’s family tree when he joined 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s Bickley & Marotta in mid-January, comparing Nick to his Pro Bowl brother Joey of the San Diego Chargers.
“The way they come off the edge, the way they bend like Myles Garrett. Tremendously strong hands, he disengages quickly,” Kiper said. “Just has a natural knack — his father was a first-round pick, John Bosa. The uncle Eric Kumerow was a first-round pick of the Dolphins. Football — they’ve been around it their whole life, great bloodlines, but certainly natural pass rushers, they both are.”
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That makes it no surprise to hear Davis compliment Bosa’s ability to play multiple roles.
“Nick is very versatile,” he said. “Nick has been an end — it was a shame we lost him this year at Ohio State. I think he’ll succeed real early in whoever takes him.”
Bosa is the lead name attached to the Cardinals at the top spot in mock drafts. Via Arizona Sports’ NFL Mock Draft Tracker, 13 of the 16 mock drafts tracked this month have the Cardinals picking Bosa.
Kiper himself had Bosa going to the Cardinals in his first mock draft.
Bosa played in three games for the Buckeyes in his junior season after suffering a core injury.
In 2017, a full sophomore season, Bosa recorded 34 tackles, 16.0 for loss, to go with 8.5 sacks, two passes defensed and a forced fumble.
