Quick Hits: Justin Frye is “Getting Closer” to Naming Starters, Carson Hinzman Thinks OSU Can Win Joe Moore Award and Donovan Jackson Has Become a Leader

Ohio State experienced some massive departures – pun intended – at the position in the offseason, as All-American Paris Johnson Jr. and All-Big Ten honorees Dawand Jones and Luke Wypler departed for the NFL. Still, that's no excuse for the Buckeyes to lack effective performance up front. At a program like Ohio State, you reload; you don't rebuild.

This season, Ohio State offensive line coach Justin Frye returns All-Big Ten guards Donovan Jackson and Matt Jones as starters. He will break in Jimmy Simmons or Tegra Tshabola at left tackle, Carson Hinzman or Victor Cutler Jr. at center and Josh Fryar, Luke Montgomery or Zen Michalski at right tackle.

No matter who starts for the Buckeyes in 2023, Hinzman believes Ohio State will possess one of the best offensive lines in America when the season is over. In fact, it wouldn't shock him if the Buckeyes won the Joe Moore Award, an honor presented to the best offensive line in college football.

"We just need a little bit of time," Hinzman said at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Tuesday. "Going into this offseason – what we've been able to put on the field recently has been more than good enough, if not great. I wouldn't be surprised if we make a run at the Joe Moore."

Hinzman was one of eight Buckeye offensive line representatives who met with the media after Ohio State's 11th practice of preseason camp. Frye, Jackson, Fryar, Simmons, Cutler, Tshabola and Enokk Vimahi also spoke with reporters on the WHAC indoor field.

Below are videos from each of their press conferences and bullet-point recaps of what each Ohio State coach and player said after the team's practice session.

Justin Frye

• Frye said Ohio State is "still in the middle" of discovering who the Buckeyes' five best offensive linemen are for the 2023 season. He feels comfortable with Jackson and Jones as his two starters at guard, but would like to see the players at left tackle, right tackle and center continue to improve as camp moves on. "We'll get to (naming starters) soon. It's been good looks, good competition. See who's good left, who's good right."
• Like how Ryan Day speaks about Ohio State's quarterback competition, Frye said the competition at left tackle, right tackle and center will be determined by who is the most consistent player day in and day out. "It's about consistency. You have to stack good days on top of good days. ... You have to be able to go out there and play the games."
• On Jimmy Simmons, Frye said, "He is a more mature guy. ... He's been in the locker room. He's been in college football games." Frye added that Simmons has bought into the offensive line room and has "bought into the culture" since he arrived on campus in the summer.
• Frye said Day, Joe Philbin, Mike Sollenne and many other Ohio State coaches have helped evaluate the Buckeyes' offensive linemen since the start of preseason camp: "We are evaluating and grading every snap of every guy... so when we go to Indiana, we are playing the five best guys."
• Frye hopes that the competitions at left tackle, right tackle and center will end sooner rather than later. "You don't want to drag it all the way out," he said. "We are getting closer to that. They'll know. We'll know. ... We will be targeted before (the Indiana game)."
• On Luke Montgomery, Frye said the true freshman tackle has developed well in his first offseason with the Buckeyes. However, he admitted that Montgomery has a challenge ahead of him if there were any chance for him to start in his first season: "I've been involved with college football – whether it was as a player, GA or a coach – since 2002, and I've had one day one true freshman starter up front. It's just hard. It doesn't mean it can't be done. It's just hard. But I've also had guys who have played as true freshman. If they're ready, they're ready."
• Frye said Donovan Jackson has been "more comfortable in a vocal position" this offseason. He added that Jackson has been an extension of the coaching staff, so to speak, in that he can ask Jackson to be the middle-man between the coaching staff and the players. "I can go to Donny and say, 'Hey, get this fixed. This happened, here's what it is, that's your job because I'm not kick-slanting next to you.'" Frye said he has tremendous confidence that Jackson can be a leader of the unit and the team.

Donovan Jackson

• Jackson said there’s more competition between the offensive line this year because everyone is vying for a spot. “Everyone’s learning to the best of their knowledge and absorbing information quickly and putting the meeting room on the field. It’s a very nice experience, we’re trying to get off the rock and run the ball and pass block as effectively as we can as an O-line.”
• Jackson said each offensive lineman has a different approach depending on how many reps they’ve received and some will have questions, so he said it’s his job to help answer them since he’s been at OSU for three seasons.
• Jackson said the meeting time with the offensive line is “very serious” and the group gets straight to buisness because to make everything go, the offensive line has to be on-point.
• On Jimmy Simmons, Jackson said he’s a “pillar strength guy” and is very strong and capable of handling bullrushes and redirecting defensive ends. “He’s very talented, which is why he chose to come to a place like Ohio State.”
• Jackson said the offensive line has tried to have a close-knit unit and over the offseason hosted BBQs and get-togethers to make sure guys get to know each other.
• On his own personal performance, Jackson said he’s a lot more detailed than he has been in previous seasons.

Josh Fryar

• Fryar feels he’s transitioning “well” from left tackle back to right tackle, where he played last year. “Going against JT, Jack, Kenyatta, all those guys just getting me better every day, that’s the main key.”
• Asked whether the five starting offensive linemen in fall camp currently feels like the “right five,” he said that Frye has continued intertwining guys and getting a sense of how the line functions. But, as Fryar said, “He and I and all of us have a pretty good sense of who it is.”
• On what stands out about Jimmy Simmons: “Athleticism. Freaky athleticism. Watching film and seeing him go up on a linebacker, it’s kind of scary how he moves.”
• After starting against Indiana last year and seeing the field against Michigan, Fryar felt he just had to “keep his head down and keep grinding” to earn a starting spot in 2023.
• Fryar said he doesn’t feel as though freshman Luke Montgomery has “pushed” him, but rather that they’re learning and growing together and that he feels like a mentor to Montgormery.
• As to whether the offensive line has answered the question mark surrounding them with three new starters: “I think we’ve answered it. Just by the film.”
• On what stands out about Carson Hinzman: “He’s super smart and he’s gritty and tough. That’s what stands out to me about him. He’s a Wisconsin guy, he’s got a little accent to him, I always make fun of him for it. But he’s gritty, he knows the game and he’s always communicating.”

Jimmy Simmons

• In the midst of some confusion as to whether he’s going by Jimmy or Josh, Simmons said he’s going by Jimmy on the football field and Josh off of it.
• Donovan Jackson has been one of Simmons’ biggest mentors since arriving at Ohio State. “He has the best mind. One of the best minds on the field to pick, especially when it comes to offensive line play.”
• On what it means to be in line to start at left tackle: “There’s a lot of expectations. I take it with a grain of salt. Maybe I’m kind of making some progress right now, but I’m still trying to work to get better at it.”
• On how he assimilated to be in a position to start so quickly: “It was a lot of grind. Especially in camp, you’re just like, ‘I’ve got another day of this?’ But you’ve just got to put your head down and go to work.”
• Simmons said the adjustment of moving from right to left tackle is a big one. “You’re going against the best D-linemen in college football, so you’ve got to really lock in.”
• The Ohio State offensive line room made Simmons feel welcome immediately upon his arrival, he said. “At some other schools, they’d be like ‘Hey,’ kind of test the waters a little bit. But here it was just open arms. Immediately upon arrival, guys were like, ‘Hey, you want to go hang out after lifts?’ It was amazing.”
• On going against Ohio State’s defensive linemen: “I didn’t expect them to be that fast. That was the biggest thing. You hear people say, ‘These guys are fast’ — coming from the Mountain West (conference), you have some dudes some weeks, but it was speed (here).”
• The angles taken to cut off some of those speedy pass rushers are where Simmons feels he’s made some of his biggest strides since arriving in Columbus. “When you’re talking about pass blocking, especially against these dudes, you’ve got to understand what type of pass play it is, whether it’s long or short. So you’ve just got to work on those angles accordingly.”

Carson Hinzman

• Hinzman said Joe Philbin has shared incredible knowledge with Ohio State's offensive linemen since he arrived in the offseason. "Coach Philbin, absolutely phenomenal coach," Hinzman said. "He is super wise in his teachings. ... He was a great addition." He added that the Buckeyes are "glad to have him" as their coach.
• Hinzman said it was an eye-opening experience last fall to line up opposite of Mike Hall Jr. and Tyleik Williams as a freshman. He said practices in the 2022 regular season, spring practices and this year's preseason camp have allowed him to feel more comfortable in his abilities, even against the best players in the nation.
• Hinzman said he had not snapped a football until late August last season. One of the first snaps he took, "I sent it over Kyle (McCord's) head," he said. Now, with experience and knowledge obtained from Frye, Philbin, Sollenne and Wypler, Hinzman feels confident in his ability at the center position.
• Hinzman on the development of Ohio State's offensive line in fall camp: "We just need a little bit of time," he said. "Going into this offseason – what we've been able to put on the field recently has been more than good enough, if not great. I wouldn't be surprised if we make a run at the Joe Moore."

Victor Cutler Jr.

• On his improvement since spring: “I eliminated every distraction that wasn’t football, and I just focused on that. And I feel like that’s what’s gotten me so much better than I was in the spring.” He said he “had a lot of external distractions” when he arrived at Ohio State, but he’s “removed all that” now. “I just felt like I didn’t show my best in spring.”
• Cutler said he weighed around 290 pounds at this time last year but is up to 298-300 pounds now.
• Cutler said snapping the ball has been the biggest transition from playing tackle at Louisiana-Monroe to playing center now. He’s said he’s still getting used to it but is getting better every day. “It’s feeling more natural, where I don’t have to think about it all the time.”
• Having lived in Detroit until he was 11 years old, Cutler said he’s enjoying being back in a big city in Columbus rather than the smaller Monroe, Louisiana.
• Cutler said the competition at center with Carson Hinzman and Jakob James is “healthy. It’s nothing toxic. We’re just trying to make each other better.”
• Cutler thinks his athleticism from playing tackle is his biggest asset, but he’s still working on getting stronger to match up with defensive tackles on every play.
• “It was actually a shock,” Cutler said of being recruited to play center at Ohio State. He said he had to think about it, but he felt transferring to OSU would give him the best chance to play at the next level.
• On Donovan Jackson’s leadership: “He’s that other voice that’s just like if you don’t trust a coach to talk about something, like you can just go to a player, he’s one of those players you can always go talk to.”
• Cutler said he’s enjoying the bigger spotlight of playing at Ohio State. “I didn’t know how big it was until I was really in it.”
• “A year ago today, if someone would have told me I would be playing for Ohio State in a year’s time, I wouldn’t believe them. And now that I’m here, it’s just like ‘Wow.’”

Tegra Tshabola

• Tshabola says he’s jumping around between playing left and right tackle and is trying to “get better every day.” He said the positions are a lot alike and you have to find your spot, shoot your hands and do what you need to do to get the job done. He added the hardest part of switching positions is when you overthink it.
• Tshabola said his role isn’t 100 percent set for the 2023 season but he intends to help Ohio State in as many different ways as he can. “Anywhere I feel like I’m needed, I want to be a guy that can step in and make a switch wherever I’m needed.”
• Tshabola said he’s “competing like I’ve never competed before” in practice. He said he’s focusing on getting better every day he can and set a goal of being the best tackle in the Big Ten one day.
• He said he feels good about the amount of work he’s put in so far, but is always looking for a way to improve. 

Enokk Vimahi

• Vimahi said the brotherhood with his teammates motivates him to keep working hard every day even though he’s still not in line to be a starter. “I love the culture here. I love team here. I love the brotherhood here.”
• On Simmons: “He’s very explosive. You can tell he’s an athlete. And that’s something that he continues to showcase.”
• Vimahi said Simmons and Cutler have both been “sponges” since arriving at Ohio State, soaking up all the information they can.
• On the mentality of the offensive line: “We’ve got that chip on our shoulder.”
• On defensive tackle Tywone Malone: “Tywone is a guy that wil exploit those mistakes that you have. He’s been a great addition.”
• On Mike Hall’s growth from last year to this year: “Turn on the tape from last year, and just multiply that however many times you want.”
• On questions about Tyleik Williams’ consistency: “He takes that criticism, and he has a chip on his shoulder.”
• A native Hawaiian, Vimahi encouraged everyone to donate to the Red Cross’ wildfire relief efforts in Maui by texting HAWAII to 90999. He also encouraged tourists to be mindful of what’s happening there before planning a trip to Hawaii: “A lot of tourists are planning on going back in just because of how cheap the tickets are. But please, please be mindful of everything that’s going on. There were a lot of lives affected, a lot of people affected. A lot of lives lost, a lot of homes lost, a lot of environment lost, and that’s something that people of Hawaii, we take very seriously.”
• Vimahi, whose family lives in Oahu, said he is keeping in touch with family and friends back home but isn’t thinking about what’s happening there when he’s out on the practice field. “Coach Day always talks about the red line mentality. You see the red line before the start of the field and even the field on the outside. When you cross that red line, you focus on the brotherhood, you focus on football and you focus on us as a team here at Ohio State.”