Solidifying the Buckeyes' offensive line before Texas opener
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — With two and a half weeks to go, the Buckeyes aren't too far away from making decisions that will decide who will start on the offensive line against Texas, and where those players will start.
"We've got to start honing in on where guys can help us and play at an elite level," Ohio State offensive line coach Tyler Bowen said. "We've got to figure out that combination of the best pretty quick."
The challenge comes in finding which five players in which five spots work best. There's an added layer that makes this a little more complex because every player has a primary and a secondary position.
When Bowen talks about finding the best combination, he has seen a ton of them through the first two weeks of training camp. Despite the complexity, there's a lot to like; the line has a lot of depth and there's experience too.
Carson Hinzman will be starting games for a third year, Luke Montgomery did great in his two starts last year against Texas and Notre Dame, Austin Siereveld has done nothing but deliver since first starting games early last season, and Tegra Tshabola is a senior who should be better as long as he stays healthy.
That leaves a battle to start at tackle, one that appears to be between Phil Daniels and Ethan Onianwa.
Daniels, who transferred in from Minnesota and played high school football in Cincinnati, lost his black stripe Wednesday. It's another sign of the impressive run he has been on in training camp, showing a ton of progress since the spring.
"I'm just playing faster," Daniels said. "I know the plays now, so everything's just clicking and once I know the plays, I feel like I can kill anybody."
Montgomery played nearly 200 snaps alone last year during the CFP run. Taking it game-by-game, he played in more snaps from the Rose Bowl to the Cotton Bowl to the championship game. It was a big ask; the Buckeyes needed help solidifying the guard spot and Montgomery stepped into the challenging situation.
"You know, if I'm being honest with you, I was just pretty pissed off that I didn't get a chance before, so I just, it was kind of like, here's what I'm going to do," Montgomery said.