Readers wondering if O-line shake-up is in store
Ohio State prevailed in a 37-17 win over Maryland, but its rebuilt offensive line left quarterback Kyle Mccord under pressure in the pocket and had trouble opening holes for running backs.
Naturally then, the bulk of the questions for this week’s mailbag centered on the Buckeyes’ group up front. Questions came from The Dispatch’s subscriber text group. (Find out how to subscribe at Dispatch.com, where there are also more submissions to the mailbox and responses.)
Is it too late to adjust personnel on the offensive line? I thought after the off week something may be different. Same players, same mistakes.
No offensive line shake-up is imminent. Coach Ryan Day poured cold water on that idea Tuesday.
It seemed possible, given that Tegra Tshabola pushed Josh Simmons to start at left tackle during the preseason, and Luke Montgomery was just behind Josh Fryar at right tackle. But Day believes a gap remains.
“We looked hard at it,” he said. Options are limited. Montgomery, in particular, is inexperienced. He only enrolled in January, and despite his recruiting pedigree, Ohio State has only twice started a true freshman on the offensive line over the last three decades — Michael Jordan in 2016 and Orlando Pace in 1994.
The Buckeyes are also feeling the effects of a recruiting dip seen late in the tenure of former offensive line coach Greg Studrawa, who was let go last year and replaced by Justin Frye. Of the Buckeyes’ 16 scholarship offensive linemen, only four are experienced college players who were blue-chip high school prospects.
The upcoming stretch, with Penn State visiting Columbus next week, followed by a trip to Wisconsin, adds to the challenge of taking more drastic steps with the personnel.
What do the Buckeyes need to do about their offensive line to have a fighting chance against the Nittany Lions? OK, first they need to get past Purdue, which certainly isn’t a “gimme,” especially considering the Buckeyes’ history of playing there.
Penn State has a formidable pass rush. It averages four sacks per game, the fourth most in the FBS. Nearly 12% of opposing quarterbacks’ dropbacks result in a sack, the third-highest percentage. Defensive end Adisa Isaac is among the top pass rushers in the Big Ten.
That could stress Ohio State’s offensive line, which has struggled in recent weeks to protect Mccord against tougher competition.
According to Pro Football Focus, Mccord was under pressure on only 16.3% of his dropbacks against Indiana, Youngstown State and Western Kentucky.
But against Notre Dame and Maryland that jumped to 34.6%.
The Buckeyes have had run blocking issues since their opening series at Indiana, but they have at least shown signs of being capable of keeping Mccord upright. They’ll need to recapture that by Penn State.
What is our run/pass split on 1st down? Seems like very high run.
It was high last Saturday. The Buckeyes ran on 61% of first downs, rushing on 17 of their 28 first-down plays. That was a higher frequency than at any point this season.
Over the four previous games, Ohio State was running on 47% of first downs.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on Facebook and X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. He can also be contacted at jkaufman@dispatch .com.