Even though Ohio State will be replacing three starters on the offensive line from last year’s squad, they will have some experienced starters taking snaps in 2025.
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Ohio State will be replacing starters from last year’s national championship team all over the field this season. One group that will be replacing three players who started last season is the offensive line.
Left tackle Josh Simmons, center Seth McLaughlin, and right tackle Josh Fryar have all moved on to the pros, leaving some questions on who will fill those spots. Today we’ll try to predict who is in line to start on the offensive line this season.
Despite being down three starters from last year’s squad, Ohio State did get a taste of life without Simmons and McLaughlin last season. Simmons suffered a knee injury in the Oregon game, leading to some shuffling on the offensive line. Just as the Buckeyes were getting used to life without Simmons, McLaughlin suffered an achilles injury prior to the game against Indiana, leading to a former starter at center returning for the remainder of the season.
Not only did Ryan Day have to replace Simmons, McLaughlin, and Fryar this season, he also needed to find a new offensive line coach since Justin Frye moved on to the NFL to join the coaching staff of the Arizona Cardinals. Taking over for Frye is former Virginia Tech offensive line coach Tyler Bowen, who has already made some splashes on the recruiting trail.
There won’t be much of a grace period for Bowen and the new starters on the offensive line, since Ohio State is not only defending champs, they’ll open up the season in one of the marquee non-conference games in college football this year when they host Texas.
Right Tackle – Austin Siereveld
Ryan Day has already declared that Siereveld would start in 2025 for Ohio State, the only question is where. After starting six games at left guard last year, Austin Siereveld will likely move to right tackle to replace Josh Fryar, who started every game for the Buckeyes at the position last season.
Even though it would make sense for Siereveld to stay at left guard since he has familiarity at the position, Luke Montgomery feels like the favorite to be the starter there, especially after starting the final two games last season at left guard.
What will be interesting to see is if Minnesota transfer Phillip Daniels is able to push Siereveld for playing time. Since both are juniors, it is likely we see both starting somewhere on the offensive line over the next two seasons. Siereveld gets the nod just because he has familiarity starting for the Buckeyes and he is a bit of a jack of all trades since he can start at both guard and tackle.
Daniels did start four games for the Golden Gophers last season, he just might be a year away from seeing playing time as a starter in Columbus.
Right Guard – Tegra Tshabola
In his first season as starter, Tshabola was a rock for Ohio State on the interior of the offensive line, starting every game at right guard. With the experience Tshabola picked up as the Buckeyes went on to win the national championship, it’s hard to imagine anybody else starting at right guard this season.
Tshabola will be entering his senior season so the mountain of a man from West Chester will be looking to close out his Ohio State career on a high note.
Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images
Backing up Tshabola will likely be Gabe VanSickle, who didn’t appear in any games last season as a freshman after he didn’t enroll in classes until June. Even though he hasn’t yet seen any action on the field in a game, the coaching staff is high on VanSickle, and he figures to play a big role on the offensive line over the next few years.
Center – Carson Hinzman
Center is the easiest position to predict on the offensive line. Not only did Hinzman start 12 games in 2023, he stepped in for Seth McLaughlin when the Alabama transfer was injured prior to the Indiana game.
Nobody would have blamed Hinzman if he had decided to jump into the transfer portal when McLaughlin committed to Ohio State since it felt like there was a disconnect between Hinzman and the coaching staff. Instead, Hinzman stuck it out and was ready to step in wherever he was needed.
Prior to returning to center following the injury to McLaughlin, Hinzman started three games at left guard after Donovan Jackson moved to tackle after Simmons was injured.
Backing up Hinzman will likely be Josh Padilla, who has made some appearances in the scarlet and gray but hasn’t seen any significant action yet. What will serve Padilla well is to sit behind Hinzman this year and soak up all he can from the starter to try and prepare to be in the mix to take over for Hinzman at the position next year.
Left Guard – Luke Montgomery
Much like how Donovan Jackson was the leader on the Ohio State offensive line last year, Luke Montgomery could be the same this year for the Buckeyes. Despite starting just two games last season, Montgomery started the two most important games, manning the left guard spot against Texas and Notre Dame.
Now a junior, Montgomery has turned those performances against the Longhorns and Fighting Irish into a spring that saw him earn rave reviews from the coaching staff. Montgomery has also been working at center, but that feels more like an emergency plan in case Ohio State has some terrible injury luck on the line like they did last season.
One name to know for the future of the Ohio State line is Jake Cook. The true freshman from Westerville North is able to play all five positions, which could come in handy since college football seasons are turning into wars of attrition following the continued expansion of the College Football Playoff. Cook is a four-star recruit and could be eased into action while sitting behind Montgomery this year, with bigger plans on the horizon for him in 2026 and beyond.
Left Tackle – Ethan Onianwa
Filling the shoes of two first round picks at left tackle won’t be easy, but Ohio State is taking a big swing at replacing Josh Simmons and Donovan Jackson by bringing in Rice transfer Ethan Onianwa. Simmons started the year at left tackle before he suffered a knee injury at Oregon, forcing Donovan Jackson to shift from left guard to tackle for the rest of the season.
Onianwa has incredible size at 6-foot-6, 345 pounds, and was considered the best offensive lineman in the transfer portal. After starting 25 games at right tackles for Rice from 2021 to 2023, he shifted to left tackle last season and made nine starts for the Owls.
Backing up Onianwa will likely be Ian Moore, who was part of Ohio State’s 2024 recruiting class. Moore was named Indiana’s Mr. Football Offensive Lineman in high school, it’s just not quite time for him to start just yet. With Onianwa starting for the Buckeyes this year before heading off to the NFL next year, Moore figures heavily into the offensive line plans in 2026 when he can compete for a starting role at tackle.