SANTA CLARA – Ohio State teammates Nick Bosa and Chase Young were back-to-back No. 2 overall picks in the NFL draft.
It seemed highly unlikely that they would ever put on the same uniform and take the field together again once they entered the professional ranks.
But the unlikely happened three weeks ago when 49ers general manager John Lynch made the trade and acquired Young from the Washington Commanders.
And it didn’t take long for Bosa and Young to show what they could do after reuniting.
Early in the second quarter of the Week 10 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Young beat his man and got to Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Then, a split second later, Bosa came to strip Lawrence and recover the fumble.
“Sometimes it seems surreal,” Young said on 49ers Talk. “Even when we did that play, I thought, ‘We really just did that play, didn’t we?’ When you’re in that moment, it’s weird to be the first person in that moment to really take it in and understand that it’s kind of crazy that we’re on the same team and playing again.”
Young said despite all the chaos that was around him, he knew it was his former and current teammate who finished the play to make the takeaway.
“Like I said, it’s going to be a quarterback race, and I knew if I was there he wouldn’t be far behind,” Young said of Bosa.
Bosa and Young have developed a bond that dates back to Young’s freshman year in 2017. Bosa arrived on campus a year earlier as a top recruit from St. Thomas Aquinas High in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Young signed with the Buckeyes out of DeMatha Catholic High in Hyattsville, Maryland.
They hit it off immediately.
“He’s been a really laid-back, relaxed guy since I first met him,” Young said. “Similar to me. Nick sticks to his script and that’s his thing.”
Young said he believes Bosa recognized his enormous potential and decided to help him make the most of their time together.
“When I got to O-State, Nick kind of took care of me,” Young said. “I think he knew how talented I was there and how quickly I could move and understand things like him. I felt like he really grabbed me and said, ‘Come here, I’m going to teach you how to be a great player.'”
Bosa and Young were primed for a big year together in 2018. But early in the season, Bosa was injured and underwent season-ending surgery to repair a tear in his bilateral leg core muscle.
Meanwhile, the 49ers stumbled to a 4-12 record and were the No. 2 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
In the usual snarky pre-draft chatter, there were questions — based solely on a few social media posts — about Bosa’s character and how he might fit into an NFL locker room.
“All of this is definitely wrong,” Young said. “Great guy. Always there for you. Definitely a great teammate, someone who always strives to help others.”
Lynch took note when Bosa showed up to an Ohio State practice before the Rose Bowl and saw his teammates’ enthusiastic reaction as they greeted Bosa.
It even carried over into the game when Young sacked Washington quarterback Jake Browning in the Buckeyes’ 28-23 win.
“I remember getting a sack and pointing at him,” Young said. “I had to get one while he was there. He was a real big brother to me when I came to Ohio State.”
In just two games with the 49ers, Young and Bosa have combined for four sacks. Bosa was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against Jacksonville. The cameras captured a moment where Bosa and Young shared a moment on the team’s bench.
“It’s good to have you,” Bosa told Young before they nudged each other while sitting next to each other.
“I feel like we’ve always loved each other,” Young said. “We love watching each other play.” I don’t know. There’s just something about it. Even at Ohio State, things always clicked for us, maybe unlike everyone else.
“We always stayed in touch. When he was drafted. When I was drafted. Yeah, man, we definitely have a really good relationship.”
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