Tegra Tshabola has had to stay patient.
While the 6-foot-6, 327-pound offensive lineman appeared in all 13 games last season on special teams, Tshabola has yet to start a game on the Buckeyes' offensive line in his Ohio State career after coming to Columbus as a near top-100 prospect in the 2022 recruiting class.
But that may change this fall. Tshabola is one of the frontrunners to start at right guard this season for Ohio State and has put in significant effort this offseason to prepare himself for the opportunity.
“He wants to be here. He wants to be a contributor to Ohio State,” Ryan Day said on Thursday. “It does matter. There are different places he could have gone and tried different avenues, but he stuck with it and it’s going to pay off for him if he continues to get better and show discipline and consistency. We’re excited about what he did this offseason. He’s gonna have every opportunity to become a major contributor on offense.”
The first practice of fall camp Thursday didn't give a clear indicator of where Ohio State was leaning at any offensive position battle, really. Carson Hinzman, who could play at either center or guard, missed Thursday's practice with an illness and is expected to return to camp Friday. OSU split reps up between two units on Thursday, with Tshabola playing right guard alongside Josh Fryar at right tackle and Seth McLaughlin at center, while Zen Michalski played left tackle and Austin Siereveld slotted in at left guard. The other offensive line contingent featured Josh Simmons at left tackle, Donovan Jackson at left guard, Joshua Padilla at center, Luke Montgomery at right guard and George Fitzpatrick at right tackle.
Ultimately, consistency will be one of the main factors Day and offensive line coach Justin Frye will evaluate Tshabola on.
“I think the first thing is you show that you know what you’re doing,” Day said on how Tshabola can seize a starting spot. “And that’s the first level of learning, do you know what you’re doing? I know that sounds simple, but you have to know your assignments cold. There’s a lot of preparation that goes with that. I think he’s done that.
“The second thing is, how do you do it? The technique, the calls, there’s so much that comes with how to do your job. And can you do it consistently over time? Tegra has shown that he can do it. He’s shown he knows what he’s doing. The big question is now after going through this preseason, he’s changed his body some. He’s had a good offseason. Reports have come back good … When they get tired, they have to stay focused. Because we know we’re going to wear teams down this year and win games in the fourth quarter. If that’s our goal, then we have to be able to do that, especially up front with the offensive line. If he can show consistently this preseason he can do that, he’s going to find himself in games.”
