Ohio State’s first three offensive line reconfigurations were born out of necessity.
Josh Simmons went down with a season-ending injury at Oregon, Zen Michalski stepped into his place. Michalski went down against Nebraska, Donovan Jackson kicked outside to left tackle and Carson Hinzman took over at left guard in an iteration of the unit that saw more success than with Michalski. Center Seth McLaughlin, now the Rimington Trophy winner as the best center in college football, tore his Achilles and Hinzman kicked back inside to center while Austin Siereveld took over at left guard.
Now the Buckeyes are looking at a starting-five shuffle one more time, and not because there’s a new injury on this occasion, but because their offense is searching for solutions trying to salvage the season in the College Football Playoff after a somber showing against Michigan. The two men who could shake things up are second-years Joshua Padilla and Luke Montgomery.
“Definitely been spending some time with the offense, and we'll look at it and see whatever makes the most sense to win this game, we'll do,” Day said last Sunday. “Whatever it takes. And we've already been looking at Tennessee, as you can imagine. … We’ve got about 10 days to work it, flush through all the issues.
“And so I think that's the good part of this thing. It's not too far where you got a month where you're kind of in bowl prep. But it's also not a week where it's on, you get two weeks to work on this thing, and work through the issues, and try to put our guys in the best position to be successful. So yeah, I'll make sure I'm a big part of it. And whatever it takes to get done, we're gonna get it done.”
Day started floating the idea of some changeups to the offensive line on Dec. 4 following Ohio State’s 13-10 rivalry loss to Michigan, and with good reason. The play of the unit has been dreadful since it lost its literal centerpiece in McLaughlin.
Cracks started appearing against Indiana, where the Buckeyes rushed for just four yards per carry and only achieved that number thanks to a 39-yard run by TreVeyon Henderson in the final minute of a blowout 38-15 victory. Take out that play and Ohio State managed just 76 yards on 28 carries, 2.7 yards per attempt.
Then Michigan defensive tackle tandem Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant came in and smothered the Buckeyes’ front five. Ohio State pounded its head into the running game 26 times and came away with 77 yards – three per carry – as Graham piled up seven tackles. Will Howard wasn’t sacked but got pressured 13 times in The Game.
Hinzman, maligned as last season’s starting center, was enjoying a breakout campaign at guard between the Simmons and McLaughlin injuries. Moving back to center, having to snap and step has seen him struggle again as he either rolled or was off-target with several snaps and looked overwhelmed on the inside against the Wolverines.
Siereveld had experience filling in for Jackson at left guard early in the season but has struggled since his reinsertion into the lineup. Right guard Tegra Tshabola had been the weakest link of the original starting five and has continued to play inconsistently. That’s what’s opened the door for Padilla and Montgomery, both interior guys, to enter the fray as eighth-seeded Ohio State prepares to face ninth-seeded Tennessee.
“I mean, I know who's going to be in the mix. I'm not going to get into that just yet,” Day said last weekend when asked if he knew who would start on the offensive line against Tennessee. “We have two weeks of prep that we've got to dive into and identify what gives us the best chance next week, or in two weeks, to go win this thing. And so we'll look at it and make sure it's right. But yeah, there'll be some guys in the mix. Luke Montgomery will be in the mix. Josh Padilla will be in the mix. And we'll make sure that it's right. And based on how they practice we'll figure out how it's going to look.”
If Padilla were to change the alignment of things, it would almost certainly be at center. That’s the position the composite four-star prospect in the class of 2023 was recruited to play, and plugging him in there would allow Hinzman to move back to where he’s had more success at left guard. But relying on a redshirt freshman with just 29 snaps of experience this season to start at center is precarious.
Montgomery was the most heralded recruit of a four-man offensive line haul for Ohio State in 2023, ranked as the No. 92 overall prospect in the composite rankings and the No. 3 interior offensive lineman. He started his career at tackle before switching to guard. He was involved in the competition to start at right guard this spring, but faded from that competition by preseason camp and has only seen backup duty this season.
Yet despite the fact that neither of them has started a collegiate game, it’s possible either or both of them could make their first career start in the CFP.
“They've been practicing and working towards it,” Day said of why Padilla and Montgomery are getting a shot. “I think they deserve an opportunity to compete the next two weeks to see if they can find themselves in a role. And that's kind of where we are. And I think a big part of that is how we came out of last game.”
“They deserve an opportunity to compete the next two weeks to see if they can find themselves in a role.”– Ryan Day on Joshua Padilla and Luke Montgomery
Whatever the final configuration is, the Ohio State offensive line will face another challenging matchup in Tennessee’s defensive line. Defensive end James Pearce Jr. is a projected first-round NFL draft pick with 35 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks this season. The Volunteers’ defensive tackle tandem of Bryson Eason and Omari Thomas weigh in at 310 and 325 pounds, respectively, and have a combined 12 TFLs in 2024. Led by its great defensive line play, Tennessee is eighth nationally in rushing yards allowed per game (99.6) and fourth in yards allowed per carry (2.8).
“Their front is very good, on the edge, inside,” Day said of Tennessee’s defense. “Both corners are tremendous. They do a nice job. They've stopped the run very well this season and lead a lot of statistics defensively, certainly in the SEC. And so it's gonna be a great challenge for our guys. We've played against good defenses this year, but this will be one of them.”
Whether Padilla or Montgomery or neither creates a (hopefully) final shuffle to Ohio State’s offensive line, Day is trying to instill confidence in Justin Frye’s position room.
“These guys have what it takes to go make this run,” Day said. “So we’ve got to help them. We’ve got to help them. And I think there's ways to do that ... there's a lot of ways that we can do it and we will do it.”
