Ohio State football: Big changes to the offensive line?

With what we saw out in practice today, it seems the Ohio State football team is making a shake-up with the offensive line.

Are major changes coming to the Ohio State offensive line? According to Nevada Buck from Buckeye Scoop, the Buckeyes are going with a five-best mentality. That means putting the five best offensive linemen on the field regardless of position. That also means a few starters from last season will switch positions.

Believe it or not, both starting tackles from last season will be in different spots this year. Nicholas Petit-Frere moves from the right side to the left. Last season’s left tackle, Thayer Munford, moves to left guard. So, who takes over at right tackle?

The speculation is extremely large human Dawand Jones will be the starter there. Jones is the most nimble 6’8”, 360-pounder you’ll ever find. Paris Johnson, Jr. will be at right guard, while Harry Miller takes over at center. The off-season consensus was Jones would push Johnson for the right guard spot. So, these moves tell me each has played so well the Ohio State staff feels they need to get both into the lineup.

All of these moves leave Matthew Jones on the outside looking in. Jones filled in at left guard last season when Miller was out with positive COVID tests. He played so well, he started the national championship even when Miller was available. Having a quality lineman like him as a backup will be a luxury because he can play all three interior positions.

Although the theory of the changes is to get the five best linemen on the field, is there a concern here? If there is any it stems from having a new starting right tackle and opening the season with a Minnesota team who believes its defensive line is as deep and talented as any they’ve ever had.

Then playing Oregon who has the nation’s top defensive end in Kayvon Thibodeaux. That’s baptism by fire for Jones in his first two games as the starting right tackle. Is all of this that big of a concern? No, not really. I think Dawand Jones is a very talented lineman who will handle those matchups very well. When filling in for Munford against Michigan State last year, the offense didn’t miss a beat. Jones is going to be a good one.

These moves could also benefit Munford in the long run. Former Ohio State offensive lineman Kirk Barton, who is also a part of Buckeye Scoop, pointed out that in the NFL, linemen are expected to learn multiple positions. The switch to guard will make Munford more alluring when it’s time for the Draft next spring.

While some of this may just be experimenting, I’m going to believe this is the way the Ohio State offensive line is going to go-the five best on the field. It is going to be interesting to see how this all plays out over the next few weeks. That September 2nd date with Minnesota is creeping ever closer.