Today’s Topic: Is There Strong Leadership on OSU’s Offensive Line?
The 2018 season quite likely saw the worst running game in Ohio State history.
Eight times in 14 games, the Buckeyes were held under 4 yards per carry.
They went the entirety of 2017 without doing it at all, and the only time it happened in 2016 was against Clemson.
Eight times in 2018 alone.
That’s the same number that occurred from 2012 to 2017 total. Over Urban Meyer’s first six seasons, the games under 4 yards per carry were few and far between. In 2018, however, they were the norm.
Heading into the 2018 season, there was a concern that there wasn’t a leader like Billy Price or Pat Elflein or Jacoby Boren or Corey Linsley.
Urban Meyer was worried about it. They moved Michael Jordan to center to counter these concerns. The center has always been “the apex” of Meyer’s offense. He sets the tone and makes the offense go. In other words, he leads.
Jordan was the Buckeyes’ third-consecutive First-Team All-American at center, but he wasn’t the vocal and emotional leader that centers of the past were. Jordan is now gone, as are fellow starters Isaiah Prince, Malcolm Pridgeon, and Demetrius Knox.
As a group, too often they were unable to impose their will on defenses, which is something that every previous Ohio State offensive line under Urban Meyer was able to do.
And now a new fivesome will try.
Thayer Munford returns at left tackle. He is entering his third season as a Buckeye. Wyatt Davis is also entering his third season and he will likely be at right guard. Josh Myers is yet another third-year Buckeye and he will be at center. Those three will be the tone setters for the Ohio State offense. They may not be veterans just yet, but as third-year players, they’re as close as you can get. They have watched long enough and now it is time to lead.
Munford will be in his second season as a starter, so he will be more comfortable leading vocally. He has always operated with aggression, which is a trait this team needed more of last year. Davis will essentially be a returning starter, having closed out the season in the starting five. He will have bowl prep, spring camp, and fall camp with the ones under his belt before he starts another game.
Myers is the key cog in all of this. Greg Studrawa said he could have started last season by November because he was ready. Looking back, maybe he should have. Myers made a big move last spring at center, but not big enough. This year he has no doubts, which is exactly what you want on the offensive line.
So who joins them? Perhaps fifth-year senior Branden Bowen. Bowen has been through it all and seen a starting job taken away by an injury that cost him most of the last two years. If there is anybody on this Ohio State roster who is hungry to impose his will, it is Branden Bowen. If he is at guard, then a right tackle must be found. This isn’t really an area of much concern given the options, however.
The real concern is that this group of offensive linemen doesn’t have the same problem as last year’s offensive line did, and need to have the offense altered before they can get low and run block.
Things got slightly better when the offense went away from the RPOs and the offensive line didn’t have to worry about getting downfield on their run blocks.
The RPOs were long gone, however, when the Buckeyes were rushing for just 108 yards against Northwestern and 113 yards against Washington.
With the greatest passing game in Ohio State history, there should have been more room to run the ball, but there wasn’t. Not even with two 1,000-yard backs like JK Dobbins and Mike Weber.
Having seen the difficulties that last year’s offensive line had, the five starters on this year’s team realize what was lacking. That alone should have them understanding the mentality that is needed.
Knowing who the players are stepping into these roles, however, I think the mentality is already there, and the leadership will follow.