Spring practice starts tomorrow for Ohio State.
Spring Previews
We’ve previewed each Buckeye position group in the days leading up to the start of spring ball, except for the one that could attract the most eyes this offseason: The offensive line. It’s a different spot compared to most other rooms on the team. It’s returning the most production of any spot outside of quarterback from 2025. But it’s also the most scrutinized unit on the team coming off of last year.
After Miami and Indiana each sacked Julian Sayin five times in the two losses that ended Ohio State’s season, the Buckeyes return four of five starters from the same offensive line, eager to produce better results in 2026. Ohio State’s run game also needs more consistency after averaging less than 4 yards per carry in four separate contests last campaign. That work starts in spring practice.
Who’s Back
Austin Siereveld (Starting LT in 2025), Luke Montgomery (Starting LG in 2025), Carson Hinzman (Starting C in 2025), Phillip Daniels (Starting RT in 2025), Joshua Padilla (Rotational RG in 2025), Gabe VanSickle (Rotational RG in 2025), Ian Moore (No. 3 OT in 2025), Deontae Armstrong (Third-String OT in 2025), Carter Lowe (Third-String OT in 2025), Jake Cook (Third-String G in 2025)
Everyone Ohio State wanted back from its starting five and rotational pieces in 2025 is back again for the 2026 season.
Despite playing left tackle for the first time in his career, Austin Siereveld was the best part of the Buckeyes’ offensive line last year. He was the only one of Ohio State’s five starting offensive linemen not to give up a sack in 2025, per Pro Football Focus. That’s in 425 pass-block reps, and he may have been better in run-blocking. PFF gave him an overall grade of 83 for the year, almost 10 points higher than the Buckeyes’ next-highest-graded offensive lineman, left guard Luke Montgomery (73.7).
Speaking of Montgomery, he’ll be back in that same left guard role for his senior season in 2026. His junior year showed promise, earning him second-team All-Big Ten honors, but Montgomery himself has admitted his play in Ohio State’s loss to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game and in Miami in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals was not up to the standard it needed to be. He allowed a combined three sacks in those games.
Left guard Luke Montgomery is one of four returning starting offensive linemen looking to take a leap for Ohio State in 2026.
Center Carson Hinzman is back for his fifth and final year as one of the most experienced offensive linemen in all of college football, with 35 games started across the past three seasons. He trailed Montgomery’s PFF grade by .1 points last year, the highest of his career at 73.7. He allowed 16 total pressures and one sack in 443 pass-blocking snaps in 2025.
The last returning starter is the outer half of Ohio State’s much-maligned right side, Phillip Daniels. A player with solid physical tools and an aggressive, nasty mentality, that eagerness sometimes led to technical breakdowns and missed assignments in his first full season as a starter in 2026. He allowed 19 pressures and two sacks in 403 pass-blocking snaps, grading out at a 65.9 overall with a grade of 62 as a pass-blocker and 68.5 as a run-blocker on PFF. There’s a good chance the Buckeyes move him to guard this season, which could be a better fit for his skill set.
Rotational guards Joshua Padilla and Gabe VanSickle are also back for the Buckeyes in 2026. The men rolled with starting right guard Tegra Tshabola at different points of the season, then VanSickle started the CFP quarterfinals with Tshabola injured and struggled in the first half before Padilla took over in the second. Padilla flashed in small doses early in the season, but neither inspired tons of confidence. A leap from one of them is not off the table, however.
The offensive lineman rising the ranks that Ohio State’s staff seems most excited about is Ian Moore, however. He received his first career start in place of an injured Daniels at right tackle against Purdue in 2025 and played for an injured Siereveld in the second half against Miami.
Offensive tackle Carter Lowe headlines the Buckeyes’ group of three second-year offensive linemen, a top-100 prospect from the recruiting class of 2025. Offensive guard Jake Cook and offensive tackle Deontae Armstrong join him.
Who’s New
Sam Greer (Freshman), Maxwell Riley (Freshman), Landry Brede (Freshman), Mason Wilhelm (Freshman)
The offensive line is not one of the position groups where Ohio State added a likely contributor to the transfer portal, and the only new arrivals in the spring will be freshmen from its 2026 recruiting class. Hulking 6-foot-7, 330-pound offensive tackle Sam Greer is the highest touted of the bunch, the No. 52 overall prospect and No. 6 offensive tackle in the 247Sports composite.
Fellow offensive tackle Maxwell Riley is the other four-star addition from the 2026 recruiting class, the No. 178 overall recruit. Riley could also slide inside at the next level. They are joined by three-stars Landry Brede and Mason Wilhelm, the latter being the son of former Ohio State linebacker, All-American and national champion Matt Wilhelm.
Dartmouth transfer Vasean Washington and three-star interior offensive lineman Tucker Smith will both enroll this summer to add to the depth of the room, but will not be with the team for spring practice.
Who’s Gone
Tegra Tshabola (Transfer), Ethan Onianwa (Senior), Devontae Armstrong (Transfer), Isaiah Kema (Transfer), Jayvon McFadden (Transfer), Justin Terry (Transfer)
The only starter gone from Ohio State’s 2025 offensive line is arguably its worst piece, Tegra Tshabola, who will spend his final college season at Kentucky after two inconsistent seasons as the Buckeyes’ starting right guard. Tshabola had flashes of brilliance but missed assignments and whiffs in equal amounts, unfortunately.
Tshabola is one of five total transfers to leave Ohio State’s offensive line room. None of the other four were projected to play a major role for the Buckeyes in 2026, with Isaiah Kema and Jayvon McFadden out one year after arriving as freshmen and Justin Terry gone one year after arriving as a transfer from West Virginia.
Ethan Onianwa graduated. Projected as Ohio State’s starting left tackle entering last season following his transfer from Rice, he moved to guard and never saw meaningful snaps after Week 3.
The Big Question
Does experience win the day?
Experience matters more for offensive linemen than for most other positions in football. More seasoned front fives often find more success. But Ohio State is betting on specifically the experienced offensive line that came up short at the end of last season.
Finding a viable transfer to add would have been hard. The position commands a premium in NIL dollars, especially with the small number of quality targets in every cycle.
“The portal really wasn’t in play there because it took everything we had to get the guys to come back,” Ryan Day said in January. “I think when you look at the offensive line just across the country, the last five years, experience is really important. When you see some of the guys who have now been in the program, so Carson (is) into his fifth year, Luke Montgomery will be a senior, Josh Padilla is a senior, Austin Siereveld is a senior, Ian Moore is a junior, Gabe VanSickle is a junior. It’s really important to have this type of maturity in the offensive line.”
"It’s really important to have this type of maturity in the offensive line.”– Ryan Day on Ohio State's 2026 offensive line
Ohio State categorically needs better play from its offensive line than it received in the final two games of 2025 to achieve any championship ambitions in 2026. As with many other spots, it will come down to development. Can the other bodies outside of Siereveld reach a similar level to him with another year of work?
Battle to Watch
Phillip Daniels vs. Ian Moore vs. Joshua Padilla vs. Gabe VanSickle
Siereveld can slide back inside and Padilla can play center to push Hinzman to guard if needed, but as it stands, these are the four names competing to start on the right side of the offensive line for Ohio State. The leaders in the clubhouse are Daniels, who I’d predict to move to right guard, and Moore.
“It hurt not to have Austin for the majority of the game against Miami. But then Ian Moore came in, and when you watch the film, he did a good job for the most part,” Day said. “We really feel like he was coming (along) all season. We’re excited about him next year and think that he can really give us something.”
Ohio State’s approach is often to identify its top five offensive linemen and let the configuration sort itself out. That opens doors for Padilla and VanSickle – or even some other surprise name – to prove themselves this offseason and earn a starting job. They have experience, too, after all. Either way, the right side of the offensive line will be the most intriguing offensive position battle to watch play out this spring, summer and fall.
Overall Pre-Spring Outlook
Frankly, it’s going to be great to see Ohio State’s offensive linemen actually start putting in work on the field after an offseason of talk – in this article, in other articles your beloved author of this article has written, in other articles many other authors have written – about the front five’s failings in 2025.
It’s the position group that will have the most eyes on it. This conversation is reminiscent of the one preceding the offensive line in 2024 after its two-game collapse to close 2023. That unit proved the bedrock of a national championship offense (following some hardships along the way).
Nothing guarantees that result for a similarly veteran unit to those 2024 slobs in 2026. It’s a completely new set of players and a completely new team. There will be more talk in the nearly six months that still separate today from football season. But it’s nice to be on the verge of some action these next six weeks.
