The Ohio State Football team has a left tackle problem

The Ohio State football team is 2-0 to start out the season after wins over both Indiana and Youngstown State. They didn’t look particularly impressive in either victory but did play better offensively against the Penguins on Saturday in a 35-7 win.

One of the biggest issues that the Buckeyes have right now is the effectiveness of the offensive line. Particularly, the left tackle position is a disaster. Josh Simmons, the transfer from San Diego State, has been starting at that position so far and has performed terribly.

On Saturday, he got called for two penalties, including one that called back a touchdown run by TreVeyon Henderson. Ohio State can’t run to the left because Simmons isn’t mobile enough to block defensive ends and seal the edge. He also struggles to get to the second level with blocks.

Simmons isn’t the only bad performer on the offensive line but he is by far the worst offender. It was clear that Ryan Day was unsure what to do at either tackle position because Josh Fryar had been practicing at left tackle in the Spring before being moved to right tackle in the Fall.

I think Day needs to replace Simmons on the left side with true freshman Luke Montgomery. Montgomery will likely struggle a bit as a true freshman, but Simmons is already struggling now. At least Montgomery’s struggles will lead to him getting key reps to being a good player down the line.

The Ohio State football team has to be able to block better in the run game. Short-yardage running is a complete mess for the third year in a row. Ohio State isn’t converting on third down either. Those are two concerning facts considering the Buckeyes haven’t exactly played a murderer’s row of a schedule so far.

Ohio State has to get this left tackle issue fixed as quickly as possible. If it’s not fixed by Week 4, the Buckeyes will lose to Notre Dame.