We are eight days out from Texas facing off against the Buckeyes, and today we look at, in my opinion, the most important position group for Ohio State. The offensive line for Ohio State is one that didn’t take the hit as some of the other groups, but lost three elite players in this group. Josh Simmons did not play in the CFP Semifinal, it was the other departure, Donovan Jackson in his spot. Finally, Seth McLaughlin, the center and leader of the group a year ago, has moved on.
The main two replacements that had to be made were at the tackle spots. Let’s start with the one transfer that is likely to start, Ethan Onianwa. The redshirt senior made his way to Columbus from Rice, where he was a 3-year starter for the Owls. At 6 ‘7”, 331 lbs, he will start at LT and is a load to deal with, especially in the run game. The question is how does he handle the monumental jump in competition. There is no doubt he will be given as good of a test as you can ask for with Colin Simmons and Ethan Burke in eight days.
Then you move to the interior, where they have three experienced options. Luke Montgomery will be the starter at LG. He is a very talented player, playing in 14 games a year ago, including starting at RG in the Texas game. He has a great understanding of the offense, but is taking a step up in terms of playing time. This is a very important player for the Ohio State run game.
Moving over to the center position, it’s going to be Carson Hinzman, another player that has been thrust into a bigger role this season. Hinzman has the most starts at Ohio State of any player in this group, with 21 career starts. Seth McLaughlin was very important to the championship team a year ago, and replacing him will not be easy, but Hinzman is about as good of a replacement as they could get.
At the right guard spot, it’s Tegra Tshabola taking over for Donovan Jackson. This is the most inexperienced player of the bunch, but did get playing time sparingly last year. It will be a large bump in playing time and responsibility for him going into this year, and the Texas DTs could make life tough for him. He fits the bill physically, at 6 ‘6”, 327 lbs, but it remains to be seen how he uses that weight.
Finally, at right tackle, it’ll be Austin Seireveld. He was fighting for that spot with Minnesota transfer Phillip Daniels, and won out. He has played almost exclusively inside during his Buckeye career, but did play tackle in high school, so isn’t new to the position. It will be interesting to see how he fairs in his first game back outside. He has a great understanding of the offense and plenty of ability, but he will be tested in a big way in Week 1.
This group is very talented and has solid experience. That being said, there are quite a few moving parts. It’s still on the table that the tackles flip spots and there is still some shifting that could happen before kickoff. The depth is good, but not great, much like the Texas group. This is going to be a good group, there is no doubt in my mind. Are they good enough in game one to shut down the Texas pass rush? I’m not sure. There’s no doubt it’ll be a massive test for a number of guys adding plenty to their plate this year.
This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Ohio State Positional Breakdown Series: Offensive Line
Reporting by Tommy Bresee, Longhorns Wire / Longhorns Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
