Virginia Tech had three offensive players at this year’s NFL Scouting Combine, and new Ohio State offensive line coach Tyler Bowen played a part in helping all three of them get there.
While Bowen will be the offensive line coach at Ohio State, he was the offensive coordinator at Virginia Tech for the last three years. Three of his top offensive playmakers over the last two years were running back Bhayshul Tuten and wide receivers Jaylin Lane and Da’Quan Felton; now, all three of them have a chance to be selected in the 2025 NFL draft.
All of them praised Bowen’s coaching during their interview sessions at the NFL Scouting Combine on Friday.
“I love Coach T-Bow, man,” Lane told Eleven Warriors. “He's a hard worker, one of the hardest-working coaches I've been around. And I'm happy for him, going up to Ohio State, and I know he's going to be just as vigilant as he was as an OC for their O-line. So they got a good one.”
Like Lane, Tuten also pointed to Bowen’s work ethic when asked about his former offensive coordinator.
“He's a great coach,” Tuten said. “He comes in day in and day out, puts his best foot forward. He was our OC, so he tried to find a lot of ways to make us successful. He puts a lot of hard work in, hours in; usually like the first one in, last one out, we see his truck out there. So he definitely cares about the team he's coaching for, and I definitely think they're getting a great coach.”
Felton said Bowen was “always encouraging and motivating” and that “he has a great love for the game.” Tuten and Felton both pointed to Bowen’s football smarts as another one of his strengths, praising his ability to scout opposing defenses and put together effective game plans.
“He put us in the best position,” Tuten said. “He did a great job scouting defenses and drawing up plays that he thinks we'll be most successful with, and I think that's what helped us a lot.”
“One of the hardest-working coaches I've been around.”– Former Virginia Tech WR Jaylin Lane on new Ohio State offensive line coach Tyler Bowen
From a statistical standpoint, Bowen’s results as Virginia Tech’s offensive coordinator weren’t spectacular. The Hokies’ most successful season with Bowen calling their offensive plays came in 2023 when they ranked 56th in scoring offense (29.5 points per game) and 60th in total offense (391.5) en route to a 7-6 record.
That said, Bowen’s last two offenses at Virginia Tech were effective in the run game. With Tuten leading the way, the Hokies ranked 23rd in rushing yards per game and 24th in rushing yards per attempt in 2023 and 43rd and 46th in those same categories in 2024. While Bowen won’t be calling plays at Ohio State, with Brian Hartline taking on that role in 2025 as OSU’s new offensive coordinator, Bowen will have a hand in drawing up rushing plays as the Buckeyes’ run game coordinator in addition to his offensive line coaching duties.
Playing in Bowen’s offense meant lots of blocking for Virginia Tech’s receivers, as the Hokies ran the ball nearly 300 more times than they passed it over the past two seasons, but Lane appreciated the way Bowen drew up plays for him in the running game to utilize his explosive playmaking ability.
“He was big on getting me touches, and he helped me realize that I'm a big-play guy. Just give me the ball and get busy, and him having faith in me to do that for our offense was big for me,” said Lane, who had 18 carries for 116 yards and two touchdowns in addition to 38 catches for 466 yards and two touchdowns last year at Virginia Tech. “Obviously you've got Bhayshul Tuten in the backfield, so be prepared to block for him, but I took that on the nose, because that's my dog, and I wanted him to be successful. But a lot of RPO game, a lot of stuff like that, it was a fun offense to play in.”
One big reason why Ohio State hired Bowen was because of his track record as a recruiter, and his former players at the combine said Bowen was someone they knew they could trust off the field, as well.
“His office door was always open for whatever player wanted to come in and just chat,” Tuten said. “He was a great resource just to talk to outside of football.”
Bowen won’t be the only new coach working with Ohio State’s offensive line in 2025 as the Buckeyes also hired former Purdue offensive line coach Marcus Johnson and former Oklahoma State offensive line coach Charlie Dickey to work alongside Bowen as assistant offensive line coaches. While Oklahoma State didn’t have any offensive linemen at this year’s combine, Purdue has a projected early-round draft pick in Marcus Mbow, who said the Buckeyes will be getting another great coach with Johnson joining their staff.
“That's my guy. I'll always love Coach Johnson, I feel like he's a tremendous coach,” Mbow said. “He's helped me grow on and off the field and he kind of let me play how I wanted to play and helped me add more tricks to my bag and when to use them and whatnot.”
Purdue offensive lineman Marcus Mbow on new Ohio State analyst Marcus Johnson, who was previously Purdues offensive line coach: Hes a tremendous coach. Hes helped me grow on and off the field, and he kind of let me play how I wanted to play.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) March 1, 2025
On new OSU tight end Max Klare: pic.twitter.com/cNPUFXo21y
