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Ohio State Football: Three position battles to watch

By Ryan Stano

Aug 3, 2023; Columbus, OH, USA; The Ohio State quarterback position is unsettled this year: competing for the job is (from left) sophomore Devin Brown (6), junior Kyle McCord (33), freshman Lincoln Kienholz (12) and senior Tristan Gebbia (13). They were doing drills during the first football practice of the 2023 season at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: Doral Chenoweth-The Columbus Dispatch
Aug 3, 2023; Columbus, OH, USA; The Ohio State quarterback position is unsettled this year: competing for the job is (from left) sophomore Devin Brown (6), junior Kyle McCord (33), freshman Lincoln Kienholz (12) and senior Tristan Gebbia (13). They were doing drills during the first football practice of the 2023 season at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: Doral Chenoweth-The Columbus Dispatch /
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Who is going to win three of the five starting jobs on the offensive line?
Who is going to win three of the five starting jobs on the offensive line? /

2. Who is starting on the offensive line for the Ohio State football team?

We know two starters on the offensive line right now. We know Donovan Jackson will be starting once again at left guard and Matt Jones will be at right guard. Every other position is up for grabs. It seems like the coaches don’t even know who they want starting yet either.

The offensive line is totally in flux. We saw the coaches set a different starting lineup for the most recent scrimmage than they had been using in the Spring. Josh Fryar, who was thought to be in the lead for the starting left tackle position, was at right tackle instead.

Jimmy Simmons was at left tackle and Victor Cutler was at center. Carson Hinzman was thought to have won that center job and Zen Michalski was thought to have the lead at right tackle. The offensive line is a bit of a mess right now and it has me extremely worried.

This battle might end up being more important than the quarterback battle. Day has shown the ability to coach quarterbacks to an elite level. The offensive line struggled to run-block last year. The same could happen this year, and the pass-blocking could fall off too.

That’s a position battle that everyone needs to watch closely. I doubt we’ll know who the starters are up front until Week 1 rolls around. That’s just how Day rolls as far as keeping things close to the vest.

The final position battle to keep an eye on is in the backfield.

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