The Ohio State football team has some turnover in some key positions, but the offensive line is the most experienced part of this offense and needs to lead the way.
The Ohio State football team will have one of the most explosive offenses in the country in 2021. That is despite losing their starting quarterback and running back too. A big reason why the offense is going to be so good is the offensive line.
Even with losing Josh Myers and Wyatt Davis, the offensive line still returns three starters and has a backup who played a lot of snaps as well. Thayer Munford, Parris Johnson Jr., Nicholas Petit Frere, and Harry Miller all return and all have played significant snaps.
The offensive line has to lead the way next season. They will set the tone in the running game and dictate how much time the starting quarterback has in the pocket, no matter who that may be. They also set the tone of the game in terms of physicality.
There really shouldn’t be any worry with this unit. Ryan Day has done a good job recruiting top prospects at each position and all of these guys played in 2020. Parris Johnson Jr. played the fewest number of snaps but showed how good he can be in four of the final five games of the year.
Ohio State saw what they needed to do to win a national title after getting embarrassed by Alabama. It all starts up front. The offensive line needs to be physical and strong. Not only that, but they need to be smart too. This offensive line should be able to check all of those boxes.
They will be tested early in a game against Oregon, assuming non-conference games will be played this year. But it will be a good measuring stick to see how good they can be by season’s end.