The Buckeyes officially have two new starters on the offensive line.
Ohio State has officially named Nicholas Petit-Frere and Harry Miller starters on the offensive line, with Petit-Frere stepping into the right tackle spot and Miller at left guard.
Petit-Frere, the top-rated tackle in the 2018 recruiting class, earned the starting spot after an offseason battle with sophomore Dawand Jones and freshman Paris Johnson Jr., the top-rated tackle in the 2020 recruiting class.
“He's done a great job during this pandemic," offensive line coach Greg Studrawa said on Tuesday. "He has really changed his body. He's bigger, he's stronger, he's 315 pounds."
Last season, Petit-Frere played 240 snaps, the most of any non-starter on the offensive line.
"He's as strong as he ever was, and his offseason, his development, really pushed him to the top of that position," Studrawa said.
Miller was a five-star prospect and the No. 2 center in the 2019 recruiting class. He's essentially occupied the starting left guard spot since spring, but now steps into the role officially ahead of Ohio State's season-opening matchup with Nebraska.
“His development during this time was just critical,” Studrawa said of Miller.
Studrawa said Miller's numbers in the weight room after Buckeyes came back from their time away from campus “blew the numbers away” from before the pandemic started.
Last season, Miller played 181 snaps, the second-most of any non-starter on the offensive line, behind only Petit-Frere.
The two join Thayer Munford, Josh Myers and Wyatt Davis to round out Ohio State's starting offensive line.
