“I will say that Tegra’s been there the whole time and has really showed improvement,” head coach Ryan Day said Thursday. “I’ve got to watch that film from today.
“Today was a physical practice, but I felt him, especially in the last couple drives.”
Tshabola is a 6-foot-6, 327-pound third-year sophomore from Lakota West who has played both reserve guard and tackle for the Buckeyes.
He might have finally found a home at right guard, though Day did not want to name a starting unit until seeing the third major scrimmage of the preseason on Saturday.
“I think he’s taken a step forward for sure,” Day said.
Ohio State returns both starting tackles — Josh Simmons and Josh Fryar — along with starting left guard Donovan Jackson and center Carson Hinzman, but Day said Simmons, Jackson and Hinzman had all been affected by illness over the past few days.
That could have also opened the door for Seth McLaughlin to start at center, something he did for the last two seasons at Alabama before transferring to Ohio State in January.
“Seth McLaughlin’s been probably our most consistent offensive lineman in the first couple weeks of practice,” Day said. “So we’ll kind of see where it goes through this scrimmage.
“So it hasn’t been easy because they’ve been kind of a little bit in and out, so there’s not enough of a body of work to have a real strong opinion in that area.
“But I will say for the guys that have been there — like Tegra has stood out as being able to play as a starting-level player. Now there’s still things he needs to improve, and Seth is the same way. So we’ve got to get Carson out there back with his feet underneath him.”
Day and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly both also like the development they have seen this month from Austin Siereveld, a redshirt freshman from Lakota East.
“He’s really shown some good signs and hopefully moving from guard to tackle can pay off for him down the road,” Day said.
Kelly, who did not arrive at Ohio State until shortly before the start of spring ball and took some time to evaluate the roster, indicated he is impressed with the frame of Siereveld, who is listed at 6-5, 320 on the roster.
“He’s long, so he’s got the size to play tackle, but he’s put together. He kind of looks like a guard, but until you pull up on him and go, ‘Wow, I didn’t know he was actually that tall.’
“He’s got the requisite arm length to play tackle, and to have guys that are position versatile, that aren’t your starters, that can be guard-tackles or center-guards is critical in terms of being able to do that.”
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