That group needs to learn to work together, to get used to the nuances of sharing double-teams and reading the defense to decide who to block, when and how.
Such relationships require time to develop, and there is no substitute for experience playing together.
Nicholas Petit-Frère indicated the emphasis this year is on versatility more than cohesion, at least in the run-up to the season.
“We’re just comfortable picking the best five — that’s always been the mission for every single time we come out of the season,” the new left tackle for the Buckeyes said. “We need to find the best offensive alignment that we want to roll with, but that doesn’t mean that that we just have five offensive linemen and that’s it. It means that we have a whole entire unit of offensive linemen that are ready to go out and roll.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, this different approach arose from the usual 2020 season.
With COVID-19 looming over everything, the staff had to deal with different players being unavailable from week to week and sometimes day to day.
The most glaring example came at Michigan State when three offensive line starters — including Petit-Frere — were unavailable.
Dawand Jones stepped in at left tackle, Matt Jones took over at left guard and Max Wray became the right tackle while Harry Miller (normally the starting left guard) moved to center and Wyatt Davis remained at his usual right guard spot.
The unit performed well, and the Buckeyes rolled to 5-0 while offensive line coach Greg Studrawa learned he had multiple reserves he could rely on.
“There was no drop off,” Petit-Frere said. “We all showed that we were all capable of playing, no matter who was the 1s or the 2s or whatever. It’s all a matter of knowing our assignment, knowing our responsibilities, so I think last year we proved that no matter if you were a starter the year before or a starter now, whatever the case may be, we all prepare ourselves every single day to play, and we all prepare as if we are the starter and if anything were to happen any one of us, we’re ready to go.”
Ohio State Buckeyes: Ryan Day ready for opener, not worried about style points at Minnesota https://t.co/cmUbDfoO6c
— Marcus Hartman (@marcushartman) August 30, 2021
The uncertainty of availability last year made developing depth, something coaches always want but that is easier said than done, a pure necessity rather than a luxury, and there may be no going back.
Of course, playing musical chairs up front is easier when a team recruits like Ohio State.
Studrawa has 15 linemen on scholarship, and four were five-star recruits in high school while another seven were four-stars.
“You know that’s something that Coach Stud has always been proficient about, making sure that we have an entire unit that’s ready to roll and play when their number is called no matter who it was, or what their position was or where they felt like they were at in terms of any type of depth chart,” Petit-Frere said. “All that matters is that you’re ready to play when your number is called.”
A five-star recruit many envisioned as a fixture at left tackle when he signed out of Tampa, Fla., Petit-Frere started on the right side last season. Now he’ll get his shot on the left side protecting the quarterback’s blind side, something he said required about a week to get used to during the preseason.
The reshuffling came about after Studrawa came to the conclusion Dawand Jones had developed to the point he could be one of the five best offensive linemen.
A junior from Indiana previously known more for his basketball skills, the 6-8, 360-pound Jones is expected to start at right tackle Thursday night at Minnesota while Thayer Munford moves from left tackle to left guard, Miller starts at center and Paris Johnson Jr. is the right guard.
“I feel pretty confident,” Petit-Frere said of the new lineup. “Dawand has been having a great camp, had a great spring ball as well. He really grew into the position of playing offensive line. He’s been a really big juice guy for us when it comes to offensive line and actually the team in general. A player always coming in every single day with a lot of energy, a lot of juice and a big passion for the game. And that’s something that a lot of players have revolved around and kind of latched on to, myself as well, so we love having Dawand and how much he’s practice and he’s done a really good job.”
THURSDAY’S GAME
Ohio State at Minnesota, 8 p.m., Fox, 1410
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