Ohio State Football: Offensive line continues to be in flux

The Ohio State football team had their first scrimmage of Fall camp this morning. While it didn’t exactly go as planned for one defensive lineman, we did learn some things about what coaches think about certain players. Specifically, I’m talking about the offensive line.

We saw an interesting line of starters today. It was Jimmy Simmons at left tackle, Donovan Jackson at left guard, Carson Hinzman at center, Matt Jones at right guard, and Josh Fryar at right tackle. That’s different than what we thought it was going to be in the Spring.

Simmons getting starting reps at left tackle is a red flag for me. Not that Simmons isn’t good, it’s just that I would have thought someone that didn’t just transfer in would have been better at this point. It had looked like Fryar was going to be that left tackle. He’s at right tackle.

The offensive line continues to be in flux and it’s not something that looks like is going to be fixed soon. It’s a unit that fans should be more worried about. If they are still playing around with starting lineup configurations three weeks before the season, that’s not a good sign.

The Ohio State football team is still figuring out who their best five are out there. When you are also breaking in a brand-new starting quarterback, that’s not necessarily a good thing. It doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence with a Big Ten game to start off the season.

I think the coaches will eventually settle on a starting five soon. Once that five gets set, it will be easier to dissect who is playing well and who isn’t. I just wish this unit was one that was already figured out. The offensive line sets the tone of the entire offense.

Ultimately, I have trust in Ryan Day’s ability to run an offense. I think the offensive line will be fine.