As the Ohio State football team heads into the 2026 season, it will be missing a lot of leaders from the 2025 roster. With the Buckeyes losing so much veteran leadership from the defensive end of the field, they will need some of the offensive players to play a more instrumental leadership role.
Obviously, Julian Sayin will still be the main leader of the team, as he is the starting quarterback. With him under center, the Ohio State Buckeyes feel great about their chances to compete for a national championship. He's going to need help from his offensive line, however.
Carson Hinzman is someone who is going to have to step into a leadership role next season. The starting center will be stepping into his senior season. He was once banished from the starting lineup, and will now prove to be a monumental part of what the team wants to do next season.
Ohio State center Carson Hinzman will step into a leadership role in 2026
Hinzman was the starting center for the Buckeyes in his freshman season, even though he was recruited as a guard. He had a very up-and-down year as the starter and ended up being benched in the 2023 Cotton Bowl due to a podcast appearance he had.
In 2024, Hinzman started the season on the bench despite having started the entire previous season. Injuries thrust him back into the starting lineup, this time as a guard. This past season, he moved back into the starting lineup at the beginning of the year as a center.
Heading into next year, Hinzman will be one of four offensive linemen from this past year's starting lineup to return. He will go from once being stuck on the bench to being one of the major leaders of a team that has national championship aspirations next season.