Ohio State received some welcome news for its offensive line on Wednesday morning.
Matt Jones has elected to use his final season of college eligibility and return for one last run with Ohio State in 2023, the 6-foot-4, 315-pound lineman announced Wednesday.
RUN IT BACK THEN pic.twitter.com/CKu0RZ6jEK
— Matt Jones (@GrindTime55) January 11, 2023
Jones started all of Ohio State's games in 2022 except for the regular season finale against Michigan, as he suffered what former offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson called a “pretty decent sprain” in the win against Maryland in November.
“It kind of slowed me down and kind of broke me down a little bit to see that I wasn’t out there to be side to side with my brothers,” Jones said of the injury before the Peach Bowl. “I know it’s a missing puzzle to the offense, and now that I’m here having another opportunity, it really means a lot.”
He made a return to the starting lineup for the Buckeyes in the Peach Bowl against Georgia and helped lead the offense to a 41-point outing against the eventual national champions. Before this season, Jones had appeared in 29 games in his OSU career and made five starts.
When talking with reporters prior to the Peach Bowl, Jones stopped short of saying he was fully satisfied with his 2022 season. He'll look to build on his season in his last go-around in Columbus.
“It's been decent,” Jones said before the Peach Bowl when asked to evaluate his season as a whole. “Could be a lot better. Of course, I'm never satisfied. There’s always room for improvement.”
Jones’ return is a welcome sight for an offensive line that will still need to undergo a rebuilding process for next season.
Ohio State is losing both of its starting offensive tackles, Paris Johnson Jr. and Dawand Jones, and starting center Luke Wypler has also declared for the NFL draft. The Buckeyes will return starting left guard Donovan Jackson, and will have a choice to either use Jones as Wypler's replacement at center or keep him at right guard.
