Position preview: Ohio State has OL holes to fill

Editor’s note: In advance of spring practice at Ohio State, The Dispatch is previewing each of the Buckeyes’ position groups. Today: Offensive line.

The losses on Ohio State’s offensive line are significant.

With Paris Johnson and Dawand Jones leaving for the NFL, the Buckeyes do not return either their starting left tackle or right tackle for the first time since 2016, leaving uncertainty over who will protect a new quarterback against the Big Ten’s top edge rushers.

But there are some clear options to take over for the departing All-americans, including Josh Fryar, a redshirt junior, and Zen Michalski, a redshirt sophomore.

Fryar was the top backup on the offensive line last fall, playing 231 snaps, the most among the Buckeyes’ reserve linemen, according to Pro Football Focus. He started in place of an injured Jones against Indiana in November, then filled in at right guard two weeks later against Michigan when Matt Jones was sidelined.

Michalski was the backup behind Johnson at left tackle and logged 79 snaps after drawing his share of praise from the coaching staff last offseason.

The competition that is seen as the most wide open, though, is in the interior. The departure of center Luke Wypler leaves offensive line coach Justin Frye with a handful of potential replacements, starting with Louisiana Monroe transfer Vic Cutler, as well as Enokk Vimahi and Carson Hinzman.

“We’ve got some younger guys, some less experienced guys,” Frye said, “but they’re all hungry. They all want to be good. They all want to get coached. That’s the exciting part about coaching. We get to go. Is it this guy here? Do we move him here? We’ll figure that out along the way. The competition is really good for open slots.”

Scholarship count

18: Jones, Cutler, Vimahi, Fryar, Jakob

James, Trey Leroux, Grant Toutant, Donovan Jackson, Ben Christman, Michalski, George Fitzpatrick, Avery Henry, Hinzman, Tegra Tshabola, Luke Montgomery, Joshua Padilla, Austin Siereveld, Miles Walker

Player to watch

When Jonah Jackson transferred from Rutgers in 2019, he was a plugand-play option at left guard for the Buckeyes, someone who had proven himself in the Big Ten as an all-conference lineman. There isn’t as much certainty about Cutler. Though he held up in nonconference matchups with Alabama and Texas, he doesn’t have the same starting experience in a Power Five league. But if Cutler can make a quick transition, he could ease the sting from losing Wypler early to the NFL.

Coach comment

“This ain’t pro football. You’re developing guys. It’s not the new year and you can cut a guy or move a guy, and you’re not happy with what you got. That is genuinely fun for me. That’s why I like this level a lot.” — Frye

Key stat

31: Career starts among Ohio State’s returning offensive linemen, including 16 by Jones and 13 by Donovan Jackson at left guard last fall.

Final outlook

In order to maintain continuity on the offensive line, Jones is expected to start out in spring practice at right guard rather than move back to his original position at center. He was the nation’s top-ranked prospect at the position in the 2018 recruiting class. But if the Buckeyes are unable to find a suitable successor to Wypler, they could turn to Jones.

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Contact him at jkaufman@dispatch.com