COLUMBUS, Ohio -- He might be able to make any play on the field, but Joey Bosa is learning that he doesn’t have to try to make every last one of them.

For all of the sacks the Ohio State defensive end made a year ago, all of the times he flew around the edge with his speed or bowled over blockers with his powerful strength, a brief review of the handful of them that got away had a familiar theme.

As much as the Buckeyes usually benefit from Bosa’s relentless energy and aggression, at times it might actually work against him when he gets off script or tries to unleash all of his incredible athleticism at once when simply focusing on his assignment is all he needs to do.

Joey Bosa finished with 13.5 sacks last season, but believes he can improve this season with a more diciplined approach to the game. AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt

"A lot of the times I was just doing my own thing, just because I felt like I always had to go and make that play to change the game," Bosa said. "It got better throughout the season, obviously, but watching the film I could see that plays could just fall into my lap and as long as I’m doing my job, I’ll make even more plays.

"I saw five or six sacks that I could have had."

The consensus All-American still finished with 13.5 of them even without the handful that got away from him, and it might be a scary thought for opposing quarterbacks that the junior still has room to improve after one of the most prolific seasons in the country a year ago.

The Buckeyes have been somewhat careful with Bosa during spring practice given the volume of game reps he’s had over the past two seasons, scaling him back in full-contact portions of practice and largely focusing on individual work to continue to improve his footwork, hips and hands. But defensive line coach Larry Johnson got started almost right away setting the foundation for taking his star pupil to another level after the season by popping in a couple video tapes -- one that showed him at his best, and another that highlighted the times when his improvisation went wrong.

"When he saw that, he was like, 'Oh, man,'" Johnson said. "But I told him, this is not a beat-up moment, this is a moment to find a way to improve. He wants to be perfect, and he’s taken the bull by the horn and gone at it in spring football.

"He wants to make every play, which is great. The guy wants to make every play, but we’ve got to do it within the confines of the defense. He’s done a great job of understanding that."

That message isn’t necessarily being delivered for the first time, and Bosa already seemed to be coming to terms with that approach in the middle of his breakout campaign last fall.

Considering how productive he has already proven to be while making 21 tackles for loss, forcing 4 fumbles or piling up his sacks without always handling his assignments perfectly, the Buckeyes certainly don’t have much reason to complain. But both Johnson and Bosa can clearly see there is more to offer. Though it’s definitely not a matter of squeezing more out of his physical ability, they’re working on that, too.

"I can’t really pick one spot of my game where I can get better at it, because I think I can improve every part of my game," Bosa said. “That’s the plan, not just working at one thing but getting better at every aspect of the game. Obviously I can do better.

"I just have to stick to the game plan and have faith it will work out."

Freelancing his own attack has no doubt been effective at times for Bosa. But the scary thought for opponents is that he seems to have found something now that will work even better.