COLUMBUS, Ohio —Ohio State offensive line coach Tyler Bowen returns four starters from last season’s group, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the Buckeyes are one simple replacement away from finalizing the offensive line for the 2026-27 season.
With former right guard Tegra Tshabola transferring after last season, Ohio State technically has one open spot up front. But Bowen said this spring that the process of determining the starting five is much bigger than identifying a single replacement at right guard.
“I think sometimes we look at O-line depth charts, like charted, left tackle, left tackle…the right tackle’s important too, right?,” Bowen said. ” So is the right guard, so is the left, they’re all very important. So the goal is, every year you’re trying to look at that group. Not, alright, who’s the first five, who’s the second left tackle, but one through 16.”
That approach leaves plenty of possibilities for how Ohio State could line up this fall. Versatility across the room is one of the biggest factors in determining the final lineup.
“Then from there, you’re looking at what flexibility does each guy have to be able to move around?” Bowen said. “I think that’s where the tricky part comes in, you’re looking at the flexibility — Some guys are tackle only, some guys are interior only, and then there’s a few guys that would be categorized as swing guys. So you’re trying to look at that, one through five, one through seven, and try to make the best decisions to put the best group on the field.”
Ohio State has several linemen who fit into that “swing guy” category.
One of the biggest questions involves Austin Siereveld, who earned All-Big Ten honors at left tackle last season but also has experience playing guard during his Ohio State career. Siereveld could remain outside or potentially slide back inside to fill Tshabola’s vacancy.
Starting left guard Luke Montgomery spent time at tackle earlier in his career and has also practiced at center. Carson Hinzman has starting experience at both center and guard, while Josh Padilla has worked at multiple interior spots as well.
The Buckeyes may have also found another option at tackle this spring in Ian Moore. The redshirt sophomore spent the spring working at left tackle and made a strong push for playing time before spring practice wrapped up.
Phillip Daniels was also working at tackle this spring before missing the second half of camp following a medical procedure. Siereveld missed time as well, limiting some of the experimenting Bowen hoped to do this spring.
Still, the additional tackle depth could ultimately give Ohio State more flexibility when trying to settle on the best five linemen.
“We’ve got guys that we need to play tackle, obviously because of length and skill set and some of the things you deal with there, and more often than not, you always have tackles that can bump in to guard,” Bowen said.
For now, Bowen said the next step is simply getting players healthy and continuing to work through combinations heading into fall camp.
“We gotta get them on the field together in those positions as soon as possible in the summer and going into fall camp so we can start creating some cohesion,” Bowen said. “And then we can start having contingency plans for if a guy goes down here or there, who’s the next man up, where does he go, and who moves around to make that work.”
Photo via Ohio State Dept. of Athletics.
I don’t care as much about what Bowen thinks: what does Arthur Smith think?