Donovan Jackson is Ohio State’s new left tackle and Carson Hinzman is the Buckeyes’ new left guard.
Jackson lined up at left tackle while Hinzman lined up at left guard during Ohio State’s pregame warmups, confirming that the Buckeyes will move Jackson outside while Hinzman will make his first start of the season.
The rest of Ohio State’s starting offensive line will be the same as it’s been all year, with Seth McLaughlin at center, Tegra Tshabola at right guard and Josh Fryar at right tackle.
The shift up front comes after Ohio State lost two left tackles to injuries over its past two games. First, Ohio State lost Josh Simmons to a season-ending knee injury against Oregon. Zen Michalski made his first career start in Simmons’ place against Nebraska, but he suffered an injury in the fourth quarter against the Cornhuskers that sidelined him for this week’s trip to Penn State.
Ohio State hopes its new-look offensive line achieves better results after the front five struggled mightily in the Buckeyes’ 21-17 win over Nebraska, in which OSU averaged just 2.1 yards per rushing attempt.
Jackson is the logical choice to be the next man up at left tackle, as he is Ohio State's most experienced offensive lineman. A two-time first-team All-Big Ten honoree who is now in his third year as a starter, Jackson played tackle in high school and has both the length and athleticism for playing on the edge. He’s never played tackle at the collegiate level except for Ohio State’s final four plays against Nebraska, however. He will now be thrust into that position for the first time against a stout Penn State defense – who’s ranked fourth in the FBS with only 267.6 yards allowed per game – in one of college football’s toughest places to play.
Hinzman, who started all 12 of Ohio State’s regular-season games last year at center, makes his first start of the year after playing only 71 snaps off the bench in the Buckeyes’ first seven games of the season. He gets the nod over Austin Siereveld, who started Ohio State’s first two games of the year at left guard when Jackson was sidelined by a hamstring injury.
