Thayer Munford knows he didn’t play his best football last season.
After undergoing back surgery that sidelined him for much of the 2019 offseason, Munford never quite got back to full strength during his junior season. He suffered an ankle injury during the season, too, and those nagging injuries prevented him from playing the way he knows he is capable of playing.
“After watching my last year’s film with all the games and stuff, I knew I wasn’t powerful in my run game, I knew I wasn’t as fluid as I am right now in my pass sets,” Munford said while meeting with the media on Wednesday.
Even with those injuries, though, Munford never missed a game. He didn’t start the game against Northwestern, but he still played 14 snaps at left tackle to help Ohio State beat the Wildcats. He still went on to earn second-team All-Big Ten honors as the only returning starter on an offensive line that was one of the best in the country.
Because he was only playing at about 70-80 percent, at least in his mind, he might not have put together the best film for NFL scouts last season. But even if there were times that perhaps Munford should have been on the sidelines recovering, he refused to sit out because he wanted to be on the field helping his team.
“I could have sat out last year and had somebody else go in, but that wouldn’t be right for me to actually be a leader for everybody else,” Munford said. “I want to make sure that everybody sees me like, ‘Yeah, this guy’s tough, he will do anything for his teammates.’”
Going into the start of his senior season, Munford is back to feeling 100 percent and is more motivated than ever to show that he can be one of college football’s best offensive linemen.
“(Last year) motivated me so much that I just wanted to go out there and dominate whoever’s in front of me right now,” Munford said. “It’s not gonna be perfect all the time, but you’re gonna see a different Thayer.”
Because of his injuries last season, Munford struggled to sustain blocks without being in pain, which kept him from being the dominant player he wants to be. So that’s one area he is particularly motivated to improve upon this year.
“Last year, everybody knew I couldn’t actually block sustain a whole drive without something hurting,” Munford said. “But that’s one of the things that kind of made me go for it a lot more, because me being an offensive lineman or anybody being an offensive lineman, it’s like, ‘All right, why are you on the offensive line then?’ It doesn’t make sense. If you’re gonna be on offensive line, you gotta sustain your blocks and then hold your blocks as long as you can, so that ballcarrier or quarterback can throw the ball off and make big runs.”
Despite his own criticisms of himself, though, Munford impressed Ryan Day with his play last season because Day knew what Munford was battling through.
“He really didn’t have much of an offseason because of that back injury, and the way that he played was pretty remarkable, in my opinion, based on he really didn’t have the offseason to get stronger,” Day said. “But he found a way, which goes to show you his resilience. This offseason, he’s really done a great job getting strong. He’s had a whole offseason to get himself where he needs to be. So I think because of that, you’ll see a different player this season.”
“I could have sat out last year and had somebody else go in, but that wouldn’t be right for me to actually be a leader for everybody else.”– Thayer Munford
In hopes of avoiding the injuries that have plagued him for the past couple of seasons, Munford has focused on eating healthier as well as strengthening his core muscles, as he believes a “weak core” was a factor in his injury issues.
While Munford wasn’t able to lift or work out as much as he normally would last offseason, he believes he has gotten both stronger and quicker this offseason, and offensive line coach Greg Studrawa has seen that from him, as well.
“He’s about 318 (pounds), as of this morning, which is right where he should be,” Studrawa said Tuesday. “He’s in the best shape of his life. He seems quicker than he was last year to me. And his strength levels are back up. He’s got some more drive, leg power coming off the football.
“I noticed the other day in the scrimmage, he was driving guys down the field, and I didn’t see that a lot from him last year. It was spotty, wasn’t consistent. And so making him consistent, and the fact that in his mind, he has nothing holding him back now. He’s not worried about what’s gonna happen with that back or anything like that, and he’s passed those tests, and so he’s ready to let it loose and it’s really exciting because he really feels good mentally. He’s really in a good place.”
Thayer Munford feels confident and ready to dominate his competition entering the 2020 season.
Studrawa has also seen Munford grow as a leader, giving the Buckeyes an excellent trio of veteran leaders on their offensive line in Munford and captains Josh Myers and Wyatt Davis.
“Thayer does a great job with those young tackles helping those kids along, his leadership has really developed tremendously, now that he’s really back into the swing of things with his health, with his weight, with his strength,” Studrawa said.
Munford is entering what will likely be his final season at Ohio State with unmistakable confidence, and he’s setting his expectations high for both himself and his unit, which he expects to be the nation’s best offensive line.
“You’re gonna see a different offensive line, too,” Munford said. “We are a force to be reckoned with right now.”
