Ohio State’s offensive line is slowly coming into place ahead of the season opener.
Austin Siereveld seems cemented at left tackle. Ditto for Carson Hinzman at center and Luke Montgomery at guard. Tegra Tshabola is a returning starter at right guard and should be the favorite to start the season opener against Texas. But the truly fascinating development regarding the Buckeyes’ offensive line has been at right tackle.
In particular, perhaps no Ohio State offensive player has drawn more praise publicly over the past week than offensive tackle Phillip Daniels, as Ryan Day, James Peoples and Caleb Downs have each been complimentary of the Ohio native within the past few days.
Daniels has taken significant reps at right tackle of late and is pushing transfer prospect Ethan Onianwa for the starting gig, which would be a bit of an upset based on depth chart projections entering preseason camp.
“I think just acclimating to the culture, that's a big deal for any guy that's coming into this program, whether you're a freshman or a transfer,” Ohio State offensive line coach Tyler Bowen said of the biggest area of growth he’s seen from Daniels in the past few months. “You see some more flexibility. I think he worked diligently on his hip and ankle flexibility, which was a big point of focus.
“We gotta continue keeping that going, and you see it in pass pro, just with his length and his bend and being able to protect on the edge. He's doing some nice things at times.”
The 6-foot-5, 315-pound transfer from Minnesota came into camp on a mission and with far more confidence than he displayed when he first arrived on campus in January. That translates to the microphone, where he doesn’t like to mince words, either.
“I'm just playing faster,” Daniels told reporters Tuesday. “I know the plays now, so everything's just clicking. Once I know the plays, I feel like I can kill anybody. I feel like I’m getting better every day.”
Daniels knows he’s competing with Onianwa, but he isn’t letting that take his attention away from simply improving his own game the best he can.
“I'm not motivated by him,” Daniels said. “He's cool. He's my brother, but I'm not motivated by him. I'm trying to help this team and be the best right tackle in the nation.”
So far in camp, Daniels has displayed a mean streak needed by Buckeyes offensive linemen in practice, even if that results in some brief dustups with some teammates during live drills.
“When you're beating on people, people don't like to get beat on,” Daniels said. “They're going to react and we're going to scuffle. Just me not reacting, I'm going to start winning and getting their head more. That's another mind game you can play on Saturday. It's cool or whatever, but I'm just here to get my job done. Sometimes you've got to get dirty.”
As mentioned earlier, Daniels came to Ohio State with a mission. But it was more for self-fulfillment rather than proving anything to anyone.
“Yeah, to myself,” Daniels said when asked if he felt like he had anything to prove. “Just getting here, like I said, three-star, barely had any offers, overlooked. Even when I finally played, sometimes it's whatever. Now, I'm just here to prove myself that every day I'm out there, just keep killing.”
