HENDERSON.- Nick Bosa leaves his mark every Sunday with the San Francisco 49erswho will dispute the Super Bowl this Sunday, since he entered the league as the second pick in the 2019 Draft.
Bosa has contributed surreptitiously on Saturdays the last two seasons, with a message to his team at the end of each session the day before the game.
“I listen to everyone,” general manager John Lynch said. “You don’t miss them because they are special. They really are. The guy doesn’t say much, but when he does, he is prophetic.”
The always quiet Bosa was first given the task during the 2022 season because coach Kyle Shanahan liked to ask a random player.
The team won after Bosa’s first message and Shanahan pointed it out again the following week. The Niners won again and it didn’t stop. Nick Bosa began to feel comfortable.
“It’s become our tradition,” Shanahan admitted. “Nick has gotten good. I remember that he always was, but it’s funny that kids who are confident in what they do are not always used to speaking in front of a group. He used to tell me that that was the moment he was most nervous all week… I think this year he thanked me. He told me ‘By the way, thanks for doing it. I have improved. “I don’t get nervous.”
Their messages are not long and last a few minutes. Bosa admitted that she is surprised that she doesn’t remember what she said the first time because she usually always remembers “traumatic experiences.”
But he’s gotten better — and more comfortable — every week.
“It’s good for me,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed having to deal with stress and doing something I’m not used to.”
Lynch compared these messages to those he heard as a player in Tampa Bay from Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy.
Bosa will remember something he read in a book, an experience from the past, something specific about the game or simply a message from the heart.
Whatever it is always resonates with his colleagues.
“It’s the content of what he says and his teammates always expect it,” Lynch said. “We all do it, because he gives us direction and Kyle does a good job. But then it’s Bosa time.”
Thoughtful messages for the 49ers:
Bosa admits that he is not a person of many words and thinks them well so that they have an impact.
It is no wonder that he is one of the hardest working and most productive players on the court. He was named Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2019, Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 and has 63 1/2 sacks in 79 games in the regular season and postseason.
“Bosa is Defensive Player of the Year, so if he talks, you listen,” said teammate Charvarius Ward. “He does a good job of motivating us.”
Bosa said this week that he already has some ideas for his message before the Super Bowl, but he wasn’t going to say anything.
But he will speak on Saturday and the Niners hope he motivates them to win.
“When I think about it I get nervous,” he said. “But once I know what I’m going to say, it’s all good.”
Source: AP
