Ryan Day took a very different approach to naming new starters on the offensive line than the last time Ohio State had to reshuffle its front five during the week of a game against a top-five opponent.
Going into Ohio State’s game against Penn State three weeks ago, Day declined to confirm during his midweek media availabilities that Donovan Jackson would move to left tackle and that Carson Hinzman would move to left guard after the Buckeyes lost both Josh Simmons and Zen Michalski to injuries at LT. Day expressed then that the Buckeyes wanted to get through their week of practice before making any final decisions on what their new-look starting offensive line would look like against the Nittany Lions.
Day didn’t hesitate on naming new starters up front this time around, however, when yet another offensive line injury forced Ohio State to retool its front five again entering this week’s home game against No. 5 Indiana.
Just one day after Seth McLaughlin went down with a season-ending Achilles tear in practice, Day demonstrated his confidence in Hinzman and Austin Siereveld by saying outright that Hinzman would move to center to replace McLaughlin while Siereveld will take Hinzman’s place in the lineup at left guard.
“Those guys were there today, had a very good practice, a very spirited practice,” Day said Wednesday. “So I’m excited for those guys to get in there and have a great game. It’s a great opportunity for those guys now. They’ve both played a lot of football. We’ve won a lot of games with Carson at center, and Austin's played.”
The decisions to move Hinzman to center and plug Siereveld in at left guard following McLaughlin’s injury come as little surprise. Hinzman started every regular-season game at center for Ohio State last season, so he has plenty of experience snapping the ball and holding down the middle of the offensive line. Siereveld started Ohio State’s first two games of the season at LG when Jackson was sidelined by a hamstring injury and has already played 247 snaps this season.
There’s no denying that McLaughlin’s loss is a big one for the Buckeyes. After all, he was just named Wednesday as one of seven semifinalists for the Outland Trophy as one of college football’s best linemen this season. But the Buckeyes didn’t show any signs of panic when they talked about moving forward without him on Wednesday.
“Those guys are ready to step up, man, and just the intensity they brought this whole week since everything's happened, showing that they're ready and they're ready to go,” Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins said.
Hinzman was unspectacular as Ohio State’s starting center last season, but Day has said several times that he felt Hinzman had to play a year before he was truly ready due to the early NFL draft departure of Luke Wypler. Day has consistently lauded Hinzman for his improvement this year, and that improvement showed up over the past three games as he stepped in seamlessly for Jackson at left guard.
Jackson believes Hinzman is playing with a different level of confidence this year, which will have him much more prepared to be Ohio State’s starting center the second time around.
“He's always been physically gifted,” Jackson said Wednesday. “I feel like mentally he's matured and his confidence level's a lot higher than last year. He's always had the intangibles and now he just has confidence in himself and we have confidence in him to go out and do what he needs to do, so I feel like he's grown as a player and as a man. He's much better than what he was last year, and his reps at guard that he already has were already impressive. Now he's just gotta do it at center.”
Siereveld’s two previous starts came against Akron and Western Michigan, so he’s less proven against high-level competition like he’ll face this weekend against an Indiana defense that leads the Big Ten in sacks (31) and tackles for loss (73). But Jackson believes Siereveld is also fully capable of stepping in and giving Ohio State what it needs at his old position.
“I believe he's prepared for this moment,” Jackson said. “He's started two games when I was out, so he has game experience. And he's just gonna keep rolling with what we have. Obviously, you have to be on the same page guard and tackle, so I've been in the film room with him, trying to get on the same page to make sure we see the same thing.
“He's an athletic monster, man, it's just getting on the same page is key in situations like this,” Jackson added. “His legs are huge, and he's really fast, and he's really big, and he runs really hard at people, and so if he can just do that at a very high level on the field, we'll be all right.”
Just because Ohio State is projecting confidence in Hinzman and Siereveld in interviews doesn’t guarantee they’ll be able to pick up where McLaughlin left off. Ohio State expressed similar confidence in Michalski before the Nebraska game – a game the Buckeyes had two weeks to prepare for – and the offensive line had its worst performance of the season in its first game without Simmons. The more hesitant approach with making Jackson the new starting left tackle and Hinzman the new starting left guard before the Penn State game didn’t stop Ohio State’s offensive line from leading the Buckeyes to victory against the Nittany Lions.
That said, it’s important for Hinzman and Siereveld to have the belief of their teammates behind them as they get thrown into the fire with Big Ten championship hopes on the line this Saturday. And it certainly sounds as though they do based on what they showed in their first full practice in their new roles on Wednesday.
“I think it was a great practice, one of the better practices we've had all year,” Egbuka said Wednesday. “People have to step up on the offensive line, but I think we have the right dudes ready and equipped to do that.”
