Ohio State adds top player to '13 class

Bosa of Florida among nation's best

4/24/2012

COLUMBUS -- Ohio State coach Urban Meyer believes the biggest gap between the Southeastern Conference and the rest of the country is the speed and depth of defensive lines.

The solution? Transplant the SEC's punishing style to Columbus.

After securing four of the nation's top defensive line recruits in his first recruiting class, Meyer added to his second haul of blue-chip linemen Monday. OSU secured commitments from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., defensive end Joey Bosa, ranked by Rivals.com as the 14th overall prospect nationally, and defensive end/linebacker Lewis Neal of Wilson, N.C.

Bosa, who confirmed his commitment on Twitter, chose Ohio State over Michigan, Alabama, Florida and Florida State among others.

"Thank you to everyone who had an interest in me," Bosa wrote on Twitter. "I can't even say how thankful I am but Ohio State is just the place for me."

Casting its net far and wide, Ohio State has enjoyed a tide of recruiting success under Meyer. One of the nation's top classes signed with OSU in February, and the Buckeyes now have 13 commitments from eight states, including nine prospects among the Rivals.com Top 150, in their class of 2013.

But their greatest successes have come at defensive line. Meyer landed two five-star defensive ends during his first weeks in Columbus -- Pennsylvania's Noah Spence and Adolphus Washington of Cincinnati -- and has already signed or secured oral commitments from eight defensive linemen.

Keith Niebuhr, Rivals.com's southeast recruiting analyst, called Bosa the Buckeyes' latest "big-ticket guy, right on the cusp of earning a fifth star."

The 6-foot-5, 260-pounder, a five-star recruit, according to Scout.com, is the nephew of former OSU star defensive end Eric Kumerow.

His father, John Bosa, is a former lineman at Boston College who was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the first round of the 1987 NFL draft.

"He's got a huge body, great body," Niebuhr said. "When these guys recruit, it's all about physical potential, and he looks better than a Big Ten, NFL-type body. He's an incredible bull-rusher, very quick and very strong. Combine that with pretty good footwork, and when he attacks, he puts a lot of guys on their back."

How difficult will it be to crack the defensive line rotation in Columbus? The front four is also the strength of this year's team and was a position of emphasis in former coach Jim Tressel's 2011 class. Five defensive linemen, including Whitmer graduate Kenny Hayes, joined OSU last season.

Contact David Briggs at dbriggs@theblade.com or 419-724-6084 or on Twitter @DBriggsBlade.