Ohio State Football: Offensive line could already be fixed
The Ohio State football team’s biggest worry, the offensive line, could be fixed after all.
The Ohio State football team had us worried following the Spring game. The quarterbacks had zero time to throw the ball as the offensive line did not hold up against the Buckeye four-man pass rush. This had us calling for help from the transfer portal, in which offensive line coach Justin Frye navigated to find Josh Simmons, formerly of San Diego State.
It’s not clear if he is coming in to be the starter right away. As a true freshman last season, Simmons started 13 games at right tackle. That’s some great early experience for a guy with a ton of eligibility left. But this line is only going to be as good as Justin Frye’s talent for developing players.
The guards are set as Donovan Jackson and Matthew Jones should both be All-Big Ten quality players. Carson Hinzman will be the opening game center. The former top-200 national recruit was expected to sit one more season, but Luke Wypler’s bad decision to head to the NFL changed that plan.
In 2021, a second-year Wypler had to take over the center spot with the unexpected loss of Harry Miller. Wypler was quietly being talked up as ready to go all offseason before the 2021 campaign, much like Hinzman is now. I fully expect Hinzman to be ready and play quality snaps at center this season for the Buckeyes.
The key to this offensive line will be the play of left tackle Josh Fryar. He stepped in last season and played a great game at right tackle against Indiana and played a good game against Michigan at right guard. I he can hold down the fort at left tackle and play well enough to not be noticed, this offensive line will be in great shape.
Between Simmons, Zen Michalski, and Tegra Tshabola, I’m sure Justin Frye will be able to find one starting quality tackle out of the bunch. And who knows, maybe even by fall camp true freshman and top-50 national recruit Luke Montgomery could be pushing for playing time.
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It might take a few games for this line to come together, but luckily this opening schedule of Indiana, Western Kentucky, and Youngstown State allows for that to happen. By the fourth game, against Notre Dame in South Bend, I believe this offensive line will be ready to roll. And if it’s not, it might be time to wonder about Justin Frye’s development abilities.