Nick Bosa was a lock to be one of the top picks in the 2019 NFL Draft, even before the first kickoff of last year’s college football season. The impressive defensive end was regarded as one of the top five players in the sport.

So when Bosa suffered a core injury in just the third game of the season — an injury that would cut his Ohio State career short — it was reported that the star defensive end would shut it down for the season and focus on the NFL Draft. It was a decision that divided fans across the country.

The funny thing about his decision, though, was that nobody truly understand what kind of injury he suffered from. When it was believed that Bosa might possibly return for the final month of the season and help the Buckeyes make a title push, there were plenty of people upset that he “threw in the towel.”

Bosa recently told ESPN that he didn’t just call it quits on Ohio State. In fact, the injury was more serious than what was being reported.

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“Some of the media put it out there that I’d be back in a few weeks,” Bosa told ESPN’s Kevin Van Valkenburg . “It’s funny how people would even fathom that. They obviously didn’t know the injury. Then it looked like it was just me saying ‘F— it’ and leaving, when that wasn’t the case at all.”

When Bosa left the field against TCU on his own power, the severity of the injury was downplayed. Head coach Urban Meyer also made it seem as if Bosa would make a return, often “hopeful” that his star lineman would put on the scarlet and grey again.

But Bosa knew almost instantly that his college career was over.

“It was the worst pain I’ve felt,” Bosa said. “It was like a couple of pops in my groin. I knew right away that it was really bad.”

Since the injury, Bosa has been in rehabilitation and has also worked his strength back up just in time for the 2019 NFL Combine. He participated in every drill, something he wanted to do so that he would “leave no doubt” that he was the best player available in this year’s draft.

Over the last few weeks, Bosa’s name has been shuffled around as one of the top draft picks. In the winter, he seemed like the guaranteed No. 1 overall pick. But with Kyler Murray announcing his decision to pursue a career in the NFL, he may not be the first one to here his name called when the draft rolls around.

Nonetheless, Bosa is going to be one of the top players selected later this month and has a high ceiling at the NFL level. But before moving on to the next level, he had to make it clear that he didn’t quit on Ohio State.

Bosa’s injury was much more devastating than most anyone knew.