Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist Bryant Young spent nearly a decade as a coach after his playing career.
The 49ers legend said on The 49ers Insider Podcast that when he watches the 49ers’ new No. 97, Nick Bosa, he sees a well-schooled technician.
“Nick does a good job just in terms of, one, being a very knowledgeable player,” Young said. “He sees the game. You can tell he’s been surrounded by good coaching.”
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John Bosa credits Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson for preparing his sons, Joey and Nick, to make the transition from college to the NFL. The Bosa brothers both won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.
“Nick would spend an hour in the D-line room with Coach Johnson watching tape, watching cut-ups of Joe’s practices, learning technique, talking about technique,” John Bosa told NBC Sports Bay Area last year. “So now you have Nick, who’s in high school, learning from the best D-line coach. So he’s going to have a little bit of an advantage, not to mention Joey continually updating him on things they were doing. Nick was getting some really good coaching early.”
[RELATED: Bosa intuitively drawn to sport that shaped his life, NFL draft future]
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Young, whom the 49ers announced last week would be inducted into the Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. 49ers Hall of Fame, cited the Bosa family history, too. John, Joey and Nick were all first-round NFL draft picks.
Nick Bosa appears to be the biggest threat to one day break Young’s 49ers all-time record of 89.5 sacks, which he set during his 14-year playing career. Bosa registered nine sacks during the regular season and picked up four more during the postseason.
“He came in his first year and did his job, did it well, made some really big plays throughout the season, brought some energy and fire to the defense to the fans, inspired a lot of people,” Young said of Bosa. “So it was good to see a young man like that come in and really do his job in his first year and do it good.”