Ohio State Football: Fixing the offensive line situation this offseason is imperative
Once more, the Ohio State football team was unable to defeat Michigan. In order to play in 2024, the offensive line needs to be improved.
The Ohio State football team’s defeat at Michigan last weekend had a number of causes.The lack of aggression displayed by Ryan Day, the performance of Kyle McCord, and the defense’s inability to force a turnover in the fourth quarter. However, the performance of the Ohio State offensive line must rank first on that list.
Even if they have gotten better as the season has gone on, it has been an issue the entire time. Paris Johnson, Dawand Jones, and Luke Wypler were the three NFL offensive linemen this team lost in the previous year’s NFL Draft. We didn’t think it would be this difficult, but we also realized that replacing them wouldn’t be simple.
Ohio State has truly been hit by the lack of recruiting at the tackle position. It was difficult for a first-year starting quarterback to not have a player who could slip into either open tackle slot. The Buckeyes had to replace a starting lineman who was committed to San Diego State with a different player whose recruiting class was commensurate with his performance this year.
This season, Ohio State’s two most reliable players—guards Donovan Jackson and Matthew Jones—did not perform well either. And it was made clear on the final offensive play of the Michigan game when Donovan Jackson was totally destroyed just before McCord was about to throw, giving Rod Moore and the Wolverines an easy interception that sealed the victory.
In the end, the rivalry game is frequently decided in the trenches. Michigan has dominated both sides of the line of scrimmage in the last three games, especially with their defensive line. Although Justin Frye was brought in to address the issue, I fear he has made things worse.
The issue with hiring has not been resolved. Ohio State lost out on several five-star offensive tackles in the 2024 recruiting class; Ian Moore, the team’s best player overall, is hardly rated in the top 150 by 247 Sports. Ohio State cannot settle for this. Furthermore, it is undoubtedly insufficient to resolve the current problem.
In order to improve its offensive line in time for the 2024 campaign, Ohio State must act now. Something needs to be done, whether it’s hiring a new coach, bringing in players through the transfer site, developing the players who are already here, or doing all three at once. If not, Michigan’s chances of losing four games in a row are very high.
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