Joey Bosa is 1 of 4 Ohio State players suspended for Virginia Tech openerBy Robby Kalland | College Football/Golf Writer
July 30, 2015 12:15 pm ET
Ohio State will begin its national championship defense at Virginia Tech without four players, including star defensive end Joey Bosa and H-back Jalin Marshall.
On Thursday, the school confirmed the suspensions of Bosa, Marshall, H-back Dontre Wilson and wide receiver Corey Smith for the season opener at Virginia Tech. The exact reason for the suspensions is not officially known aside from the four "violating Department of Athletics policy."
Here is the official release from Ohio State:
"Four individuals from the Ohio State University football team will miss the Buckeyes' first game of the season, Sept. 7 at Virginia Tech, for violating Department of Athletics policy. The individuals involved are junior defensive end Joey Bosa, sophomore H-back Jalin Marshall, senior receiver Corey Smith and junior H-back Dontre Wilson."
Update: ESPN's Joe Schad reports that the athletic department policy suspensions are due to issues involving "marijuana and academics."
Bosa, a consensus All-American in 2014 as a sophomore, is one of the nation's top defensive players. Last season, he racked up 13.5 sacks last year -- half a sack short of Vernon Gholston's school record.
Without Bosa, the Buckeyes will have to turn to one of their underclassmen -- they have a group of four young defensive ends behind Bosa competing for playing time -- to step into the starting role for the trip Blacksburg. Tyquan Lewis was expected to start opposite Bosa, and for the opener it seems either Sam Hubbard or Jalyn Holmes will have to fill Bosa's large shoes.
Without Marshall and Wilson -- who split time at H-back last season and were the third and fourth leading receivers for Ohio State, respectively -- the Buckeyes might have to look to former quarterback Braxton Miller to step into a big role faster than anticipated.
Miller just recently made his position change from quarterback to receiver/H-back public, but he has reportedly been preparing at H-back for weeks. Corey Smith was the Buckeyes' fifth-leading receiver in 2014; with the departure of Devin Smith for the NFL, he was expected to compete for a starting role opposite Michael Thomas this season.
The biggest question Ohio State was expected to face coming into the opener was which of their talented quarterbacks would be the starter, J.T. Barrett or Cardale Jones. Now, the Buckeyes have to replace their best defensive player and three of their top receivers from the 2014 season. Of their five top pass-catchers from 2014, only WR Michael Thomas will be available for the Virginia Tech game -- Devin Smith, of course, left for the NFL.
Urban Meyer addressed the suspensions on Thursday afternoon at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago.
"I kind of knew about this for a little bit," said Meyer. "The athletic department has some policies that we are 100 percent fully supportive of it. ... You try to create a culture where teams know how to move forward."
"We're pushing forward. The comment I did make, we are playing an extremely talented team, a very well-coached team on the road in a tough environment. However, we have recruited very well. So you go and move forward."
Ohio State will still be favored to beat the Hokies, but the task of starting 1-0 in 2015 just became much more difficult with these four suspensions.
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball...ener-at-va-tech 
