COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State coach Ryan Day says there’s still some shuffling along the Buckeyes’ offensive line ahead of their Aug. 30 season-opener.
Some of that the coaches credited to a new emphasis this preseason: players learning primary and secondary positions. But as the third-ranked Buckeyes get closer to their matchup with top-ranked Texas, Day is hoping to lock in his frontline sooner rather than later.
“It’s important as we get closer to this first game for guys to really dig in and get the majority of the snaps at where they’re going to play,” Day said this week.
Austin Siereveld, a third-year sophomore who entered preseason as the presumed starter at right tackle, has been working at left tackle over the past week. That’s because Phillip Daniels, who transferred in January after two years at Minnesota, is in the running to start on the right side.
Rice transfer Ethan Onianwa is the potential backup at either spot. He is also getting a look at guard, where Tegra Tshabola and Luke Montgomery finished last season as starters flanking Carson Hinzman at center.
“We’ll see,” Day said. “By the end of this week, we’ll have more and more snaps, more and more information, and go from there.”
Onianwa started 25 games at right tackle and nine at left tackle for Rice.
“I feel like it’s kind of important for all the O-linemen to have experience in these positions because you never know how the season’s going to progress, and that’s just been kind of like the plan,” Onianwa said Tuesday. “I’ve been playing guard, I’ve been playing tackle on both sides, and it’s just a learning experience, and I’m enjoying every second of it.”
Daniels redshirted in 2023 and played in 12 games last season for the Golden Gophers.
If outsiders were surprised at his ascension, he indicated he is not.
“I know the plays now, so everything’s just clicking,” Daniels said. “Once I know the plays, I feel like I can kill anybody.”
Offensive line coach Tyler Bowen, who is in his first season in Columbus after spending three at Virginia Tech, downplayed the significance of the movement to a certain degree, but he confirmed the staff is putting an emphasis on learning multiple positions.
“It’s something we believe in, and that’s a good example of it,” Bowen said of Siereveld’s moving around. “He’s bounced to tackle. He’s played guard. I think what you see up front, we do that a lot. Nothing’s set in stone. We have a lot of versatility. We have some depth, but we’ve got to be able to perform at a high level on the spot we settle into, and that’s what we’ve got to figure out this week. And we’ve got to figure it out fast.”
While the starting lineup is still being determined, Day said he is happy about the depth up front with redshirt freshmen Gabe Van Sickle and Ian Moore making progress this month.
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