Starting against Akron wasn’t a shock to Austin Siereveld, but the person who told him he’d be living out a childhood dream may shock some.
Left guard Donovan Jackson had been limited much of preseason camp by injury. Siereveld rolled with the first-team offensive line as a result. It ended up being Jackson who told the Ohio native he’d be making his first start in the Shoe against the Zips.
“He said, ‘You’ve got it,’” Siereveld said. “‘You’re going against Ty (Hamilton) and Tyleik (Williams) every day in practice, it’s no different.’”
Siereveld made the most of his first two opportunities starting against Akron and Western Michigan in Jackson's stead, and though Jackson is set to return this week, the redshirt freshman has solidified himself as a piece to utilize in the offensive line room going forward.
“He's going to still play, and we'll figure out how that looks,” Ryan Day said on Tuesday. “But he's done a nice job in the first couple games for stepping in in that spot. I think that's provided us some depth that we didn't know we had going into the preseason.”
There’s not much on paper to suggest that Austin Siereveld should have acclimated as quickly as he has in Columbus.
He didn’t come to Ohio State with the pedigree many of its other recruits do, ranked 300th overall and 15th among interior offensive linemen in the 247Sports composite rankings for the class of 2023. Given the developmental nature of playing offensive line, the thought was that it would take more than two years for Siereveld to see the field, especially when the nation’s No. 3 IOL, Luke Montgomery, also signed with Ohio State that year.
With Jackson locked in as the starting left guard and Montgomery, Tegra Tshabola and Carson Hinzman all battling at right guard throughout this past offseason, it didn’t seem any more likely this August that Siereveld should be a candidate for playing time in 2024. Then doors started opening.
Montgomery began taking reps at center to provide depth after falling out of contention for the starting right guard spot. Siereveld began making waves in fall camp as he was called upon to take first-team reps due to an illness that swept through the position room, even playing some tackle when the team was shorthanded.
Jackson’s injury led to Siereveld starting the season opener against Akron. There were some run-blocking struggles in the first half for both him and the front five collectively. Ohio State picked up just 4.8 yards per carry in the first 30 minutes of its season.
“First game, obviously you're going to have nerves being a first-time starter,” Siereveld said. “But after the first couple of plays, I was good. I was just rolling.”
Siereveld carries a soft-spoken persona in interviews, but he made plenty of noise cracking opposing shoulder pads once he got his feet beneath him. With Jackson still out against Western Michigan, Siereveld cleared a massive hole on both of Quinshon Judkins’ second 23-yard touchdown runs, knocking a linebacker back four or five yards, and he with the rest of the offensive line paved the way for the Buckeyes to gobble up 273 rushing yards at a clip of seven yards per carry.
“I think he did a good job of taking my challenge to him and just coming out and playing hard,” center Seth McLaughlin said of Siereveld after the game. “I think he did a good job of that.”
Make it 2 touchdowns for Quinshon Judkins. pic.twitter.com/71h5qAakuO
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 8, 2024
Like many players from Ohio, Siereveld dreamed of playing for the Buckeyes in his childhood. He doesn’t feel his adolescent self would believe where he’s at now.
“No, I don’t think,” Siereveld said. “(If I told) my younger self I was even committing (to Ohio State), he wouldn’t believe that.”
Siereveld’s not as surprised as others might be – this writer included – that he’s seeing significant playing time two seasons into his career in Columbus. He stated that he “knew” he’d play some this campaign even in spring, although he was not anticipating he’d start Week 1 at that time.
The rise in his performance has left an impression on coaches and teammates alike.
“I'm super impressed,” right tackle Josh Fryar said. “He's very mature. Obviously, you can see the tree trunks on that guy. I mean, his legs are huge. He's super athletic. He bends really well, and he's good with his hands in pass pro. So just seeing that stuff and him getting playing experience is just incredibly huge for him, and I think it's going to do great things for him in the future.”
Siereveld’s newfound experience is only increasing his confidence, he said, and he’s growing in his ability to read defensive fronts and understand his assignment every snap of the football.
So no, he won’t be starting again against Marshall. But Siereveld’s quickly transformed into an important depth option for the Buckeyes, certainly at guard and perhaps even at tackle after his camp experience. Even a resurrection of OSU's six-lineman "Bison" package featuring Siereveld isn't off the table, though Day said it's not in the Buckeyes’ plans right now as the team looks to utilize its tight end depth.
“Wherever they need me, if it's left (guard), right, wherever I need to, I’ll go in,” Siereveld said. “Just block the dude in front of me.”
