Three names were uttered most often in discussions surrounding Ohio State’s two vacancies at offensive tackle this spring.
Josh Fryar was the closest thing the Buckeyes had to a proven commodity to replace either Paris Johnson Jr. or Dawand Jones, and still seems to be the favorite to start at left tackle this season. Beyond Fryar, Tegra Tshabola and Zen Michalski were in an open competition to fill Jones’ shoes on the right side, although neither turned in overwhelmingly positive performances with any consistency.
That group gained a new name just a couple weeks after the Buckeyes’ spring game, when Josh Simmons – a 13-game starter at right tackle for San Diego State last season – transferred into the program at the end of April. So entering the preseason, the Buckeyes essentially have everything figured out with two clear frontrunners at tackle, right?
Not so fast.
Ryan Day added another name into that mix of contenders at Big Ten Media Days Wednesday, and one that many previously thought to be precluded from the conversation due only to his age and lack of experience. But true freshman Luke Montgomery, who has yet to log a live snap for the Buckeyes, will now be a player to watch this preseason based on Day’s high praise alone.
“I think it's still undecided (at tackle). For Josh (Simmons), he's just getting here, so we need to see what we got on the field. We don't know,” Day said. “We see a lot of talent, but Ohio State's different. This is a different offense, everything about it is different. So we need to see that, although we're encouraged with what we see. Tegra's done some good things in the offseason. And then Luke Montgomery, I've been very impressed with him. So I think we have some good candidates there. But now they gotta go compete, and it's gonna come down to what they look like in the preseason. So there's no more waiting around, they gotta go.”
Of course, there’s a difference between an underclassman showing promise and truly threatening for a starting job at a position where freshmen usually have little to no shot at earning first-team reps right off the bat. Upon further questioning about Montgomery on Wednesday, though, Day only doubled down.
“He's in the competition,” Day said. “And I told him the other day, I said, 'I know you're a true freshman, but you came here to play. So that should be your mentality.' Now, whether you play in the first game or not, I don't know. Maybe you don't play this year. But I see things in him, we see things in him that are very encouraging. And I think everything you invest in Luke you're gonna get back. He has all the traits that you look for in a really good offensive lineman. Maybe it's Game 3, maybe it's Game 4, I don't know when it's gonna be. But he's got a huge upside as well.”
Montgomery, a Findlay, Ohio, native, came out of high school as the No. 2 player in Ohio and the 120th-ranked recruit in the country. Montgomery measured in at 6-foot-4 and 298 pounds amid his first spring at the college level and wound up playing 15 snaps as the Buckeyes’ second-string left tackle in the April 15 spring game.
“He's in the competition. And I told him the other day, I said, 'I know you're a true freshman, but you came here to play. So that should be your mentality.'”– Ryan Day on Luke Montgomery
Perhaps if Ohio State isn't completely sold on Fryar, Montgomery could see more opportunities with the first-team unit once preseason camp begins next week. Day didn’t rule out the possibility that players could move around along the Buckeyes’ front five over the course of the year, which suggests the final lineup may not be determined by the start of the season.
“I can see us moving some pieces around as time goes on. You don't want to, you'd like to have five that you feel great about, but I just think there's enough talent and enough competition in that room that you're going to see us trying to give guys opportunities in-game to grade out as champions and earn starter status,” Day said.
Montgomery has already made a strong first impression on at least one of Ohio State’s veteran leaders and fellow offensive players so far in his first year with the team. Fifth-year tight end Cade Stover, who represented the Buckeyes at Big Ten Media Days Wednesday, said Montgomery actually plays first base for his softball team, which “shows how much I trust him.”
“I've actually gotten very close with Luke and Austin Siereveld. Both of those guys I truly believe will be superstars here one day,” Stover said. “And I mean, that's your future line you're looking at in a couple years or potentially sooner. They're both very, very good players. … All three of those guys; Austin, Luke and (Joshua Padilla) are all tremendously talented people. So whoever it ends up getting it, I know they're all gonna compete to the best of their ability. So like I said, we're in very good hands either way.”
While Montgomery’s apparent ascent up the depth chart may not bode well for some of Ohio State’s more experienced tackles, it certainly creates cause for excitement for the future of the in-state product.
