Ian Moore needed to be good enough at the left tackle spot this past spring and during fall camp to give Ohio State its best offensive line spot for the 2026 season. Austin Siereveld, the Buckeyes' starting blindside tackle last season, does his best work inside at guard, specifically right guard, with Luke Montgomery holding down the LG spot. Luckily for Tyler Bowen, Arthur Smith, Ryan Day, and Co., Moore gave them just what they needed.
Reports from fall camp claim that Moore was holding his own against defensive ends Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and Beau Atkinson in his reps. Moore had a productive spring, but needed fall camp to leave any doubt behind. If that were to be the case, Siereveld wouldn't need to play out of his natural position.
Moore wasn't there yet against Miami in the Cotton Bowl Classic after stepping in for the injured Siereveld, though he didn't drop the ball in a figurative sense. In fall camp, Moore seems to have evolved into a solid starter who could continue to boost his stock in a career-defining opportunity to protect Julian Sayin's blind side.
Ian Moore predicted improvement during Ohio State practice
Moore always knew nothing would improve his game like going up against Ohio State's deep and talented edge-rusher group. When asked about the Canes and if The U was a litmus test of sorts, Moore claimed nothing improved his game like a Buckeyes practice.
"I mean, I don't really look at any of that. I think that we have the best defense in college football, and I believe that down to every fiber in my body. So every time I go out against somebody else, I'm not worried about them. I'm worried about practice tomorrow because I'm about to go against (Kenyatta Jackson Jr.). I'm about to go against Beau (Atkinson). I mean, we've got coaches out here that are telling them to do stuff that I've never seen before. And you've just got to adjust every day,"Â Moore said in May.
You know a program's culture is self-sustaining when your starting left tackle believes his own team's defense will make him a better player than live-game reps. NFL GMs caught on to this a while ago.
Who gets bumped from Ohio State's starting OL with Ian Moore at LT?
Ohio State lost only one starter from last year, RG Tegra Tshabola, who committed to Kentucky in the transfer portal. Moore didn't bump anyone who's currently on the roster, though IOL Joshua Padilla was trending to be in the conversation before Moore broke the glass ceiling at LT and Siereveld slid over to the IOL himself.
Padilla and Gabe VanSickle will rotate in, but it seems as though Bowen and Co. got a good answer on who needs to be on the field the most early on (from left to right): Moore, Montgomery, Carson Hinzman, Siereveld, and Phillip Daniels.
Things change quickly, but what hasn't changed is that Moore did exactly what was asked of him this offseason. He grabbed the brass ring at the most important position on the line.
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