COLUMBUS, Ohio- With Sam Hubbard, Jalyn Holmes and Tyquan Lewis off to the NFL, Ohio State lost three core leaders on the defensive line from last season. As the coach of that position group, Larry Johnson knows he has to overcome that turnover of players each and every spring.

“Every year there is going to be a great player leaving,’ Johnson said. “My job is to make sure that the next man’s up.”

Coming back for a third season, Nick Bosa has now been thrust into that leadership role that players like Holmes and Hubbard left behind. However, for a player that has primarily led by his play on the football field, spring practice prior to the 2018 season will be the time to make his voice heard as one of the elder statesmen on the line.

Despite not being relied on every snap in the 2017 season, Bosa made a very big impact in the time he was on the field. He led Ohio State with 8.5 sacks, with 16 of his 34 tackles happening behind the line of scrimmage.

To Johnson, Bosa, last season, was even taking steps as one of the leaders of the room, leading by example.

“All I expect of him is to go really hard and so that young player, a Chase Young, doesn’t get any bad habits because this is how a great player is supposed to play,” Johnson said. “That’s what Nick is doing for him. He’s going as hard as he can in every rep, every play. All you do is turn on the videotape and say this is what we are trying to emulate, this is what we want to be. So a guy like Chase Young or (Jonathan) Cooper watching this and saying, ‘man, look at that.’”

Even though he will try and continue to lead in that way heading into the 2018 season, Bosa, with the combination of his skill level and his status as one of the older guys in the position group, acknowledged that his leadership style would have to shift a little.

“I’m not usually a vocal guy, but I like to help people out a lot and just critique people, not as a loud fashion as some people do,” Bosa said. “I’m definitely going to have to take a more vocal role this year.”

Heading into spring practices, Bosa said this is something he is excited about, being the guy at the front of the line, setting the tone for his position group in practices and drills. It will take some time for Bosa to morph into that role, though. On the first day of practice, he said Johnson got on the position as a group, saying they were playing lackadaisically.

However, according to the Fort Lauderdale, Florida native, he will not be alone in this role.

“We just need to get used to me Dre’Mont, Coop, all those guys need to get used to us setting the example and being the guy who tells somebody to run back from a drill,” Bosa said.

Last season, the talk around the Ohio State defensive line was about, not only being the best position group in the conference or the nation, but of all time. With the leadership of Bosa at the helm, second-year defensive end Chase Young believes that kind of talk is still relevant now.

“We talk about it all the time,” Young said. “We can be and we will be the best, the best d-line in the nation and the best tandem, whatever. The best triplets, whatever you want to call it. Me, Nick, Coop, we are going to do it.”