Former Ohio State DE Nick Bosa Wins 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award
San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa was named Defensive Player of the Year at the 2023 NFL Honors presentation Thursday night.
Bosa won the award in a blowout, receiving 46 votes while Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick, earned two. Bosa is the first 49ers player to win the award since defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield
The 25-year-old Bosa recorded 51 total tackles in 16 games this year, and his 18.5 sacks during the regular season were the most in the league and good for second in 49ers franchise history.
Before San Francisco selected him with the second overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft, Bosa spent three seasons at Ohio State from 2016 to 2018. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida native tallied 77 total tackles with 17.5 sacks and a touchdown return during that time.
Bosa was a part of three postseason games as a Buckeye: the 31-0 loss to No. 2 Clemson in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl, the 24-7 win over No. 8 USC in the 2017 Cotton Bowl and finally the 28-23 victory against No. 9 Washington in the 2018 Rose Bowl
Bosa is one of only ten players to win both NFL Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Rookie of the Year in their career, joining the likes of former New York Giants linebacker and NFL Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor, who won both awards in 1981.
Nick's older brother, Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Joey Bosa, also played at Ohio State and received the NFL Rookie of the Year award after his debut season in 2016.
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