Scarlet Sunrise: Nick Bosa, Chase Young will represent Buckeyes in Super Bowl LVIII

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Nick Bosa, Chase Young will represent Buckeyes in Super Bowl LVIII

The San Francisco 49ers are headed to Super Bowl LVIII, and so are former Ohio State pass rushing stars Nick Bosa and Chase Young.

Bosa recorded a pair of sacks during the 49ers’ comeback win over the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship Sunday, during which San Francisco scored 27 straight points to start the second half.

Although he was criticized for his lack of effort on the Lions’ third first-half touchdown — a 15-yard scamper by running back Jahmyr Gibbs — Young tallied three tackles in the thrilling 34-31 victory in Levi’s Stadium. One of those three tackles was a two-yard TFL on Gibbs.

Bosa and Young sent the Lions back to Detroit. That meant ending the journeys of three other Ohio State football alums: left tackle Taylor Decker, left guard Jonah Jackson and long snapper Jake McQuaide all were part of the Lions’ historic run to their first NFC Championship since 1991.

So was wide receiver Jameson Williams, who started his college career at Ohio State before transferring to Alabama. Williams scored two touchdowns in Detroit’s season-ending loss.

Bosa will now play in his second Super Bowl. He was a rookie — actually, the Defensive Rookie of the Year — when the 49ers fell to the Kansas City Chiefs, 31-20, in Super Bowl LIV. He, and the rest of the 49ers who were on that 2019 team will get a shot at revenge against the Chiefs this time around, as Kansas City is back in the Super Bowl for the fourth time in five years.

Young, on the other hand, has never been to the Super Bowl. He was traded by the Washington Commanders to San Francisco midseason. He tied his single-season career high with 7.5 sacks in 2023, as many as he had when he won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2020. Bosa — the reigning AP Defensive Player of the Year — notched 10.5 sacks this season.

Both will have the tough task of trying to wrangle Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium. That matchup will be one of the many storylines in what is a high-powered Super Bowl showdown.

Coach Speak: How Ohio State offensive tackle commit Carter Lowe turned into national prospect

Four-star Toledo (Ohio) Whitmer offensive tackle Carter Lowe committed to Ohio State over the weekend. In doing so, the No. 85 overall prospect and No. 9 offensive tackle in the On3 Industry Ranking picked the Buckeyes over a final five of Michigan, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee.

It was a critical moment for Ohio State offensive line coach Justin Frye and the Buckeyes in general.

Lettermen Row caught up with Whitmer run-game coordinator and offensive line coach Eric Brown to learn about what makes Lowe special.

Get the full story here.

Roster Reset: Evaluating Ohio State special teams units

Lettermen Row’s “Roster Reset” series has reached the special teams department, a headache the last couple years for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State is going in a different direction for 2024, already parting ways with special teams coordinator Parker Fleming.

It’s yet to be determined who will handle what special teams responsibilities from a coaching standpoint, but the Ohio State depth chart in that phase of the game is a bit clearer.

We explored what that might look like next season and posed the biggest question facing the specialists in 2024. Check it out here.

Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Akron: 215 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 306 days

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