More than any unit, Clemson exposed Ohio State's offensive line in its 31-0 whipping of the Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl as part of the College Football Playoff. Quarterback J.T. Barrett hardly had time to do anything, as Christian Wilkins, Clelin Ferrell and Carlos Watkins constantly ripped into the backfield.
The Tigers recorded 11 tackles for loss and three sacks of Barrett, who threw two interceptions. When left guard Michael Jordan went down with an ankle injury in the first quarter, Greg Studrawa tapped Demetrius Knox to replace him.
Jordan returns in 2017, as does stud left tackle Jamarco Jones, right tackle Isaiah Prince plus soon-to-be four-year starter and team captain Billy Price. The latter replaces 2016 Rimington Trophy recipient Pat Elflein who graduated and is headed to the NFL.
“That's not acceptable.”– Urban Meyer on the 28 sacks Ohio State allowed in 2016
So while the Buckeyes have four players back on their offensive line that started last season, a massive hole must be filled at right guard with Price's shift to center. More depth also gravely needs to be established.
Let's examine the options Studrawa has to fill that open spot and more with Ohio State's offensive line.
The Returners
Fact: Ohio State lost a first round draft pick (Taylor Decker), a multi-year starter (Jacoby Boren) and a member of the NFL team that just won the Super Bowl, albeit on the practice squad (Chase Farris) from its 2015 offensive line and still led the Big Ten in rushing last fall. By a significant margin, too, 33 yards per game more than Michigan, who finished second.
Fact: The Buckeyes allowed 28 sacks in 2016, just shy of the most in one season during Urban Meyer's tenure. Defenders got to Braxton Miller and Kenny Guiton 29 times in 2012.
“The offensive line must do — we gave up [28] sacks this year,” Meyer said on National Signing Day. “That's not acceptable.”
Pass protection was an issue that never went away in 2016, with it becoming more prevalent against the top defenses Ohio State faced. A nightmare evening for Isaiah Prince at Penn State ended with six sacks for the Nittany Lions, Michigan got to Barrett eight times in the regular season finale and Clemson three in the Playoff. If it weren't for some Houdini-like moves from Barrett in the pocket, the 28 sacks very easily could have been higher.
To his credit, Prince did play better in the Fiesta Bowl than he had at times in the regular season. Clemson's speed and depth overwhelmed the entire offense, though, showing how far the Buckeyes were from being in the same conversation as the truly elite teams in the country.
Still, Ohio State should feel somewhat comfortable with four of the same faces that played up front last season back in the fray. Price is the unquestioned leader and doing what Elflein did a year ago. Jordan showed promise and a penchant for finishing plays hard, plus he has an excellent frame (6-foot-7, 310 pounds with long arms). Jones should work himself into the first round draft pick discussion a year from now. Prince showed improvement and also has great size.
The question now is if the group can take a collective step forward in Year 2 under Studrawa.
Right Guard Options
Studrawa did not talk to reporters after the Fiesta Bowl loss and was not made available to the media on Signing Day. So his thoughts on who leads to step in for Price at the vacated guard spot are unknown.
However, four names come to mind: junior Malcolm Pridgeon, redshirt junior Demetrius Knox, redshirt sophomore Matthew Burrell and freshman Josh Myers. You could add incoming freshman Wyatt Davis to the list but he is not slated to arrive until June. Asking someone to start major Division I college football on the offensive line after three months in the program is tough. The odds the Buckeyes don't decide who wins the right guard job until fall camp are extremely high.
Many thought Pridgeon would step in and play right tackle last season for the Buckeyes after he transferred from Nassau Community College in Garden City, New York. A knee injury in training camp ended that plan before it got going, putting his Ohio State debut on hold until 2017.
He did get reps during bowl practice as he continued his way back from the injury but it remains relatively unclear how much he will do this spring. The Buckeyes probably envisioned him at tackle but play the best five available on the offensive line. So if Pridgeon shows he is one of the best five, he will start.
The same goes for Knox and Burrell, two players that entered the program as four-star out of state prospects that Ohio State really liked. Knox struggled in the Fiesta Bowl in place of Jordan, though that could have been partly expected because he missed a few months with a broken foot. Burrell is entering his third year with the program. The time is now for each to take a jump in their development.
Myers enrolled in January, a mammoth human being at 6-foot-6 and more than 300 pounds. His weight room prowess has him "competing already" according to his head coach, an Ohio kid that mauled overmatched opponents at Miamisburg High School. Myers never really had to pass block in high school, part of his game that showed it needed work during U.S. Army All-American Bowl week in San Antonio in December.
Would Studrawa and Meyer pull the trigger on starting a true freshman on the offensive line for the second straight season? It seems blasphemous but the fact it happened in 2016 showed their lack of confidence in the depth up front to perform at a high level.
Who works with Price and the other starters during spring practice is going to be an important position battle to watch.
The Other Slobs
Meyer stresses that Ohio State is an "offensive line-driven program," one that sports a powerful rushing attack which leads to play-action and downfield passing. The five offensive linemen, tight ends Nick Vannett and Jeff Heuerman in addition to the monstrous running of Ezekiel Elliott led the Buckeyes to the national championship in 2014.
The list of offensive linemen in the program that haven't yet been mentioned in this story is lengthy. Brady Taylor is a redshirt junior, Branden Bowen and Kevin Feder are redshirt sophomores like Burrell, and Tyler Gerald, Jack Wohlabaugh and Gavin Cupp all redshirted last season. Thayer Munford joins Davis as the new Slobs set to arrive in June.
Davis is a five-star recruit from California, so him playing somewhere this fall makes sense. Whether or not that is on special teams or offense will be determined by how quickly he picks up the speed of the college game and the various blocking concepts at Ohio State. But it doesn't make much sense for a kid ranked that high as a recruit to redshirt, provided he stays healthy.
Bowen played against Northwestern last season as a blocking tight end with Marcus Baugh and A.J. Alexander dealing with various injuries and the three true freshmen at the position not being ready. He donned the No. 44 when he entered the lineup.
Feder battled a foot injury but participated some in Fiesta Bowl practice. Ohio State signed Wohlabaugh with the hope he would take over at center some point. Gerald, Cupp and Munford need to develop this season to provide more depth for Studrawa's unit.
Price and Jones will be gone after the 2017 season. Pridgeon should push for playing time somewhere. Myers will be part of the conversation. Burrell, Bowen, Feder, Taylor and Knox must bring something more to table starting this spring or risk being passed over.
We wait until March 7 to see how those storylines and more shake out with the big boys up front at Ohio State.
