While Ohio State has started to settle in on which offensive linemen will play which positions this season, Ryan Day isn’t ready to name a starter at either offensive tackle spot or at center just yet.
Jimmy Simmons and Tegra Tshabola have been practicing at left tackle after starting preseason camp at right tackle, while the opposite switch has occurred with Josh Fryar and Luke Montgomery. Day said Monday that he expects Simmons and Tshabola to remain on the left side and Fryar and Montgomery to remain on the right side now that the season opener is less than three weeks away.
“I don't think we’ve made a final decision on that. But if I had to project that, I would say yes,” Day said. “There hasn't been a lot of moving parts since we made that move. So I mean, we're kind of settling into it.”
Simmons took all of the first-team reps at left tackle during Friday’s practice – the last one that was open to the media this preseason – and Day indicated Monday that Simmons is the frontrunner right now to be Ohio State’s starting left tackle. However, he wasn’t ready to name Simmons the outright starter yet.
“I think he's had some really good practices. And he's shown that he can be the starting left tackle,” Day said. “He has not won that job yet. But he has shown traits that make us believe he can be that guy.”
Day gave a more open-ended response when asked if Fryar is the frontrunner to start at right tackle, suggesting Montgomery remains in the thick of that competition even though Fryar ran with the first team Friday and Montgomery is a true freshman.
“He's somebody that, he's kind of gone back and forth a little bit, he's got flexibility that way,” Day said of Fryar. “For Josh, he feels comfortable playing on the right side, and so is Luke. And so, like we talked about last week, we've looked at who's going to be the best moving forward for the long term.”
Carson Hinzman has worked at the first-team center at both practices open to the media this month. But Day said last week that the center competition had “heated up” between Hinzman and Victor Cutler Jr., and Day wasn’t ready to give any further updates on that competition Monday.
“I don't think I'd like to mention that yet,” Day said when asked if there was any separation in the center competition. “There was some decent play (in Saturday’s scrimmage). But I don't think we're ready to identify somebody ahead of the other just yet.”
Even though guards Donovan Jackson and Matt Jones remain the only solidified starters up front near the halfway point of preseason camp, Day still projected confidence in the overall state of the offensive line on Monday. When asked if he was worried about the combination of an unsettled offensive line with a quarterback competition that also remains undecided, Day expressed that he thinks the front five will be able to get the job done.
“I don't think that's going to affect the quarterback play. I think the progress that's being made there. I don't see that being an issue,” Day said of the offensive line. “I like the way we're trending. I think (offensive line coach Justin Frye)’s doing a great job. And I think we have a chance to have a really good O-line.”
