Thayer Munford couldn’t opt out of the Rose Bowl. Not after what happened against Michigan.
Had Munford chosen not to play against Utah, his five-year Ohio State career would have ended with a 42-27 loss against the Buckeyes’ hated rivals. For Munford specifically, the lasting image from that game was a particularly ugly one: Aidan Hutchinson toppling Munford over with a bull rush that’s been viewed nearly one million times on Twitter.
Time to study the tape of the Hutchinson/Ojabo show pic.twitter.com/JYgC41ryaO
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) November 28, 2021
Munford didn’t want to go out like that.
“I’ve gotta get that bad taste out of my mouth,” Munford said Wednesday.
Munford wants to finish his Ohio State career with a win, and he says that’s the biggest reason why he’ll be on the field in Saturday’s Rose Bowl.
Because his teammate Nicholas Petit-Frere decided not to play in the Rose Bowl, however, Munford’s final game will come with an additional perk: He’ll get to play left tackle for the entire game.
While Munford still played some snaps at left tackle this season, including that play against Michigan, he saw most of his playing time this year at left guard – 554 of his 634 total snaps, per Pro Football Focus – as he kicked inside to open up the left tackle spot for Petit-Frere, which in turn opened up the right tackle spot for Dawand Jones.
Despite starting at left tackle for the previous three seasons and earning first-team All-Big Ten honors at that position in 2020, Munford willingly moved inside because he and Ohio State felt that would be best for the team.
“He made one of the biggest sacrifices for our team this year,” Ohio State offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said.
Munford admits, though, that he’s more comfortable playing on the edge than he is inside.
“It's very exciting,” Munford said. “I'm happy that I'm back in my natural habitat.”
With Petit-Frere leaving the team to turn his focus toward the 2022 NFL draft, Munford says he has been lining up exclusively at tackle in bowl practices, which he thinks will help prepare him to play at his best against Utah after cross-training between guard and tackle throughout the regular season.
“It will be nice to know that I can practice that one position for that week, then come game time I know I'm going to be doing that position, not just (moving between) left guard, left tackle throughout the whole game,” Munford said.
Even though Munford feels most comfortable playing tackle, it’s possible he could move back to guard next year when he’s in the NFL. Wilson believes that might be where Munford’s next-level future is, and Munford knows he needs to be prepared to play either position to stick around long-term in the NFL, where teams often carry only seven or eight offensive linemen on their rosters.
That said, Saturday will be an opportunity for Munford to showcase what he can do as a tackle one more time in his final collegiate game, in which he’ll go up against a Utah defensive front that includes several NFL prospects like defensive end Mika Tafua and linebackers Devin Lloyd and Nephi Sewell.
He’s looking forward to the challenge.
“I can't wait to actually see what they can actually do up front instead of just seeing it on film,” Munford said. “I just can't wait to play this game, see what they've got.”
With Munford moving back outside to left tackle, Matt Jones will take his place at left guard against Utah. Jones saw playing time on the offensive line in each of Ohio State’s last 10 games of the regular season, as he regularly rotated in at guard as the sixth man on the Buckeyes’ offensive line, so both Munford and Wilson are confident he’ll be prepared for the assignment of starting in the Rose Bowl, just as Jones did in each of Ohio State’s two College Football Playoff games last season.
“I think he's a tremendous player. I think he sets up to play very well in this game against great competition,” said Wilson, who said true freshman Donovan Jackson could also see some snaps at guard against Utah.
For Munford, it’s a bittersweet week, as he says he’s still not quite ready to leave Ohio State even after five years with the Buckeyes. But it will be a much sweeter ending to his career if the Buckeyes come out on top in Pasadena than if they don’t.
“We've got to win this game to just get this taste out of our mouth,” Munford said. “If we don't win this game, we're going to have this taste in our mouth for a good minute, and we don't want that.”
