Isaiah Prince has had one of the most roller-coaster-like careers of any player on Ohio State's current roster.
The senior tackle earned the starting right tackle job in 2016 as a sophomore, but struggled for most of the season, allowing seven sacks and a whopping 39 pressures, according to CFB Film Room.
One year later, Prince rebounded in a big way, becoming a model of consistency along Ohio State's offensive line on his way to being named a third team All-Big Ten selection by both coaches and media in 2017.
Now a senior, Prince is moving down the line to left tackle to protect the blind side of whichever Ohio State quarterback wins the starting job in 2018. For Prince, starting at left tackle for the Buckeyes was a goal he had when he arrived in Columbus in 2015.
"To be honest, when I first got here, I just wanted to get on the field and make an impact on gameday the best way I can, doesn't matter what position," he said. "(But) yeah, I wanted to play left tackle."
After playing on the right side of the line for two seasons while Jamarco Jones occupied the left, Prince is finally getting his chance to play the premier spot on the offensive line for Ohio State.
With that promotion comes a leadership role as well, as he and Michael Jordan will be the linemen with the most experience coming back as each player enters his third season as a full-time starter.
Jordan, who is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, said he has seen Prince work even harder this spring because the Maryland native knows that he is the elder statesman in the room, protecting the blindside of a new starting signal-caller.
"He is working even harder because it is kind of his responsibility to be a leader in the offensive line room, so he doesn't want to slack off," Jordan said. "He never slacked off in the past, but he is building on last year."
Fellow veteran Brady Taylor, who is entering his fifth season and is competing for the starting center position, added that he looks up to Prince even though he is a year older.
"The improvements that he has made and how he has matured the last couple years is really unbelievable. Me and him really bonded from when he came in until now. He has got a lot of respect from people in the room. We really look up to him even though he is younger than I am," Taylor said. "He comes up all the time and helps me whether it be hand (placement) or sets, and of course I respect his opinion because he has become a really good player and a really good leader for us."
The strides that Prince made from 2016 up to now have not only helped him gain the respect of his teammates, but have also given him confidence to lead an offensive line room that has to replace two veterans in Jones and Billy Price.
Ohio State RT Isaiah Prince generated a Pass Block Efficiency Rating in the 1.1 percentile last year. This year, he's up to the 90th percentile. pic.twitter.com/hTO2xfYXMg
— CFB Film Room (@CFBFilmRoom) December 7, 2017
He said the struggles he endured during his first year as a starter have helped prepare him to take over the premier spot on the offensive line and lead a unit that enters its third season under Greg Studrawa.
"If I didn't play my sophomore season, I don't think I'd be the player that I am today. I am really confident. Those lessons have taught me that when things get hard, just keep going," Prince said. "It taught me how to work and it made me who I am.
"After that year, my focus was to just play as hard as I can and just have really great focus on what I needed to do to get better," he added. "I also apply that to the younger guys in my room now, showing them what that example looks like. Just be a leader for them and someone they can look up to."
