Ohio State Football: Justin Frye can show his coaching right away

In the opener against Notre Dame, the Ohio State football team will need to be clicking on all cylinders. Even though the Buckeyes will be facing a Fighting Irish squad that has a brand new head coach, they will still be one of the most talented teams in the country.

It will be important to establish the run early. That’s where Justin Frye’s coaching comes in. The new offensive line coach will get a chance to show what he’s been able to do with that unit right away. We’ll see if they are more physical at the point of attack than they were last season.

In order for the Ohio State football team to win this tough opener, the offensive line has to play well. They have to push Notre Dame back on the line of scrimmage to open up holes for TreVeyon Henderson. Henderson doesn’t need much in order to break a big one.

I’m not as concerned about pass protection from the offensive line. That wasn’t much of a problem last year. C.J. Stroud was able to stay upright most of the season. The Buckeyes also run some short routes sometimes if they are struggling in pass protection.

Running the ball is the bigger issue. It will keep Notre Dame on the sidelines and it will tire out the Fighting Irish’s defense. It also keeps the Ohio State offense more balanced and more lethal. But in order to keep that balance, the offensive line has to play well.

Frye was brought in to instill toughness to the offensive line. He was tasked with changing the mental makeup of that room. We’ll find out right away if that mental makeup has changed at all when Notre Dame visits on that first Saturday in September.