Scarlet and Game
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Ohio State Football: Offensive line issue must be fixed this offseason

By Frank Teriaca

Aug 5, 2022; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes offensive lineman Paris Johnson Jr. (77), offensive lineman Zen Michalski (65), offensive lineman Carson Hinzman (75) and offensive lineman Tegra Tshabola (67) during practice at Woody Hayes Athletic Center in Columbus, Ohio on August 5, 2022.Ceb Osufb0805 Kwr 32
Aug 5, 2022; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes offensive lineman Paris Johnson Jr. (77), offensive lineman Zen Michalski (65), offensive lineman Carson Hinzman (75) and offensive lineman Tegra Tshabola (67) during practice at Woody Hayes Athletic Center in Columbus, Ohio on August 5, 2022.Ceb Osufb0805 Kwr 32 /
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The Ohio State football team fell short again in being able to beat Michigan. The offensive line must be fixed in time for the 2024 game.

The were many reasons for the Ohio State football team’s loss to Michigan last weekend. Ryan Day’s lack of aggression, the play of Kyle McCord, and the failure of the defense to get off the field in the fourth quarter. But at the top of that list has to be the play of the Buckeye offensive line.

It has been a problem all season, even if they have improved as the year moved along. This team lost three NFL offensive linemen to last year’s NFL Draft in Paris Johnson, Dawand Jones, and Luke Wypler. We knew replacing them wouldn’t be easy, but we also didn’t believe it would be this hard.

The lack of recruiting at the tackle position has really caught up with Ohio State. Not having a player who could slide into either open tackle spot made life hard for a first-year starting quarterback. The Buckeyes had to pluck a starting tackle from San Diego State and insert another one whose recruiting ranking reflected his play this season.

The two players that Ohio State thought they could count on, guards Donovan Jackson and Matthew Jones, did not play well either this season. And it was evident on the last offensive play of the Michigan game where Donovan Jackson got completely blown up as McCord was set to throw causing an easy game-sealing interception for Rod Moore and the Wolverines.

The bottom line is that the rivalry game is often won or lost in the trenches. In the past three games, Michigan has dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides, particularly with their defensive line. Justin Frye was brought in to fix it, but I’m worried he’s only added to the problem.

The recruiting end of things has not been fixed. Ohio State missed on multiple five-star offensive tackles in the 2024 recruiting class, as its best overall player is Ian Moore, barely ranked inside the 247 Sports top 150. This is not good enough for Ohio State. And it certainly is not good enough to fix the issue at hand.

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Ohio State must do something about its offensive line in time for the 2024 season. Whether it’s a new coach, transfer portal players, getting the players who are already here more developed, or a combination of all three, something must be done. If not, a fourth straight loss to Michigan is very likely to occur.

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