HERO Sports is counting down the days until the kickoff of the 2018 college football season on Saturday, Aug. 25, by featuring the best player in the FBS at each jersey number, from 99-1. Each day, from May 18 through Aug. 24, we'll publish one article showcasing the best player whose jersey number matches the number of days remaining.
[divider]RANKINGS: Top 100 Teams for 2018
TRIVIA: Daily FBS Trivia Question
MORE: Best FCS Player for Each Jersey Number[divider]
No. 97 Nick Bosa
Ohio State – DE
Nick Bosa arrived in college football with as much fanfare as any player in a 2016 recruiting class that featured Rashan Gary, Jacob Eason, Ed Oliver and others. The five-star player from St. Thomas Aquinas was the top-ranked strong-side defensive end in the country and, the reason behind most of the fanfare, the younger brother of Joey Bosa.
He wasted no time in terrorizing opposing quarterbacks just like his brother did, registering five sacks as a freshman and eight more last year.
"I’m going to play a decent amount more this year," Bosa said in January. "It’s always Coach [Johnson's] plan to slowly progress me up and I feel like it’s worked out pretty well. This year’s going to be full out, play every snap that means anything for my last year… or possibly my last year."
Bosa, part of a loaded defensive line group for the 2019 draft and a candidate for the No. 1 pick, also said, despite losing players like Tyquan Lewis and Sam Hubbard, this could be Ohio State's best pass-rushing group ever. The 6-foot-4, 263-pounder enters his junior season as the reigning Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year and has 23 tackles for loss in 27 career games.
