Taking a Look at the Recruiting Track Record of New Ohio State Offensive Line Coach Tyler Bowen

That said, Frye's recruiting often felt uncoordinated. Who better to fill his shoes than a former recruiting coordinator?

Tyler Bowen has been tabbed as the Buckeyes' new offensive line coach after a three-year stint at Virginia Tech as its offensive coordinator and tight ends coach. While Bowen played offensive line in college at Maryland, he hasn't taught the position directly since 2017 when he was with the Terrapins, though he did manage the block-heavy tight end position for the past seven seasons with Penn State, the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars and the Hokies.

But it's clear that, after years of misses on elite prospects on the recruiting trail – five-star offensive tackle David Sanders Jr. being the most recent example – Ryan Day's top attraction to Bowen is his recruiting acumen. The Nittany Lions' recruiting coordinator from 2018 through 2020 brought several elite offensive linemen and tight ends through State College, even if there isn't a five-star land on his résumé to date. He'll hope to change that in the 2026 cycle as Ohio State is in pursuit of some big-name OL prospects like five-star Jackson Cantwell.

With that in mind, Eleven Warriors wanted to dive into some of the highlights of Bowen's career as a recruiter to see what he'll bring to the Buckeyes.

Landon Tengwall

Where else to start but the biggest land in terms of composite ranking that Bowen has wrangled in his career.

The 300-pound Tengwall was a top-60 recruit nationally coveted by a host of suitors. Bowen and Penn State beat out heavy pursuit from Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and Michigan for the Maryland native. Despite Phil Trautwein's status as Penn State's actual offensive line coach, Bowen served as his primary recruiter, locking down Tengwall when he was still a junior at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School.

Tyler Bowen was the best recruiter Ive seen. I was no doubt committing to Penn State once he left Maryland to go to PSU

Super happy for Coach Bowen. Hes gonna go toe to toe with Trautwein with those OL recruiting battles https://t.co/Jq4cMLS6Uu

— LandonTengwall (@landon_tengwall) February 5, 2025

Tengwall also serves as the top example of Bowen working his best pipeline, which is Maryland and the area surrounding Washington, D.C. That comes as no surprise given it's the site of his playing career and coaching start with the Terrapins. Ohio State's been known to land some marquee prospects from that region, most notably legendary defensive end Chase Young.

On the field, things didn't go to plan for Tengwall, who medically retired from football before the 2023 season for an undisclosed injury. He started five games for Penn State in 2022 before his career ended. But the recruiting land was still a home run for Bowen at the time.

Rasheed Walker

Here Bowen dipped into Maryland for a top-100 prospect that lived up to his billing at Penn State.

Walker's recruitment waged a war between Ohio State and the Nittany Lions, battles Day might have remembered losing when he started his search for a new offensive line coach. Walker also had offers from Georgia, LSU, Michigan and Notre Dame.

In State College, Walker became a three-year starter at left tackle and a two-time All-Big Ten selection before getting selected in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers. He won the Packers' starting left tackle job early in 2023 and has since started 32 consecutive games in Green Bay.

Theo Johnson

Don't call Bowen a Maryland merchant; he pulled the highest-rated tight end prospect of his career out of Canada. Top-100 prospects at such a position are hard to come by and Johnson landed at 72nd overall and third at tight end in the class of 2020.

Johnson had his share of suitors, visiting Iowa, Georgia and Michigan before his commitment to Penn State. He joined a loaded haul for Bowen in the class of 2020, which included two other prospects listed here.

Ohio State won't rely on Bowen to recruit tight ends, as Keenan Bailey has done a fine job managing that room and landing such names as Max LeBlanc, Nate Roberts and a 2026 commitment already in Corbyn Fordham.

Johnson amassed nearly 1,000 receiving yards in a four-year career with the Nittany Lions before landing as a fourth-round pick with the New York Giants in the 2024 NFL draft. He had 29 receptions for 331 yards and a touchdown as a rookie this past season.

Olu Fashanu

Part of being a great recruiter is finding hidden gems, and Fashanu is one of the crowning examples of that for Bowen.

Bowen worked his primary pipeline to perfection in identifying Fashanu early and getting in on his recruitment fast as big players arrived later on. Alabama, Florida, Michigan and Ohio State ended up pursuing the 320-pound hulk despite his ranking at just 401st overall in the 247Sports composite, but Penn State was ultimately the only school he visited.

Fashanu rose the ranks to become a starter his junior season and earned second-team All-American honors to go with second-team All-Big Ten honors, then became the Big Ten's Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2023. The tackle became Penn State's first consensus first-team All-American offensive lineman since 1995 that year.

He parlayed that success into being selected with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. Suffice to say Fashanu was five-star caliber all along, and Bowen eyed it from the start.

Tyler Warren

Perhaps no one outside Penn State and Bowen saw Warren becoming the star he's become for the Nittany Lions.

Unlike Fashanu, Warren was truly lacking in big-time suitors, with only seven offers listed on his 247Sports recruiting profile. Michigan and Virginia Tech did give Penn State some pursuit, at least.

It's hard to get much better than a Mackey Award winner as the nation's best tight end in terms of a prospect land at tight end. Warren gave unbelievable punch to a Penn State passing attack sorely lacking in it, racking up 104 receptions for 1,233 yards and eight touchdowns in 2024. The Nittany Lions' top wide receiver had just 720 yards.

One can only hope Bowen will bring such an eye for potential to Ohio State.

These cherry-picked examples show where Bowen can be successful with the Buckeyes, who are searching for their first out-of-state five-star offensive line commit since Nicholas Petit-Frere in the class of 2018. Bowen will need to establish quick ties with Cantwell and other top targets like Micah Smith, Felix Ojo, Darius Gray and Maxwell Riley. Perhaps his DC connections can make up some ground for five-star Maryland product Immanuel Iheanacho, too.