Buckeyes mixing, matching tackle options with critical camp stretch ahead

COLUMBUS — Whatever lessons were learned about the vacant Ohio State right take job last week at the first day of training camp are officially outdated.

On that day, last Thursday, the Buckeyes had Josh Fryar at the left tackle spot — where he has been since the beginning of training camp. And Zen Michalski was running at right tackle with the first-team offensive line.

Turns out neither of them could end up at those positions.

Buckeyes coach Ryan Day made it clear that not only is the right tackle spot still up for grabs, but he and the Ohio State coaching staff are moving pieces around at both tackle spots, having Fryar take reps at right tackle and Josh Simmons, among others, work at left tackle as well as on the right side.

Confused yet? Ohio State isn’t. The Buckeyes have a plan to sort through the four tackles they believe can play at an Ohio State level. And with four options for two spots, this first week in full pads with full contact will be revealing for how the battle will shake out.

“We’ve been moving some guys around to figure out what the right mixture and combination is going to be,” Day said Wednesday afternoon following the sixth practice of Buckeyes training camp. “So when you say ‘right tackle,’ yeah, I like the progression that we’re making. When you look at Josh Fryar, when you look at [second-year tackle] Tegra [Tshabola], when you look at Jimmy Simmons, when you look at [true freshman] Luke Montgomery, all four of those guys are competing at a high level. Zen is also in there, and George [Fitzpatrick] is getting better.

“But those four guys are competing. And we’re trying to figure out what is the best mixture of right and left. [Offensive line coach] Justin [Frye] and [Frye assistant] Mike [Sollenne] and all the guys in there are working hard to figure that part of it out. But I’m encouraged. I’m excited. I think we have a chance to be good at that position.”

Key word there: four, meaning the first four Day mentioned. That leaves Simmons, Fryar, Tshabola and Montgomery still in the mix for the two starting tackle jobs. And while it’s unlikely Montgomery becomes the ultra-rare freshman who starts at tackle, he is making the competition interesting.

Of course, this was never going to be an easy proposition for Ohio State, replacing two all-conference tackles, one of whom was a top-10 pick in the NFL Draft and another who is currently dominating at Cleveland Browns camp.

So the Buckeyes are toying with Fryar at both tackles, even after he took nearly every first-team rep at left tackle in the spring. They’re moving Simmons to left from time to time for evaluation. Tshabola and Montgomery are earning turns on both sides. Fryar has been the constant in all of this mixing and matching. He is expected to be one of the two starters. From there, it’s all about who has the better month of August. So far, Day seems confident Simmons will be ready.

“I can tell you that we’re very excited about about Jimmy Simmons,” Day said. “He’s off to a great start. And I think Luke Montgomery has a really bright future ahead of him. So again, these are all exciting things. Tegra, there’s a lot of good things, Josh Fryar has done good things. So I can’t tell you that one’s in front of the other.”

Day and the staff, most notably Frye and Sollenne, are tasked with sorting through this shuffling of tackles and finding the best two for the job — and the top player for the right side, as well as the left side.

Good news for the Buckeyes: there’s athleticism among the tackles, making the task of flipping sides a much easier task — and allowing Ohio State to toy around with each of the options.

“We always have to figure what the best five is, and then where their best position will be,” Day said. “We’ve had guys that have swung before, you guys know that. In some guys, it’s easier than others. And Josh has been able to kind of move back and forth, which really helps his value. Other guys, it’s a little bit harder. But for the most part, all four of these guys are pretty athletic. And they’re not really too right-handed and left-handed. So they can handle it a little bit better.

“But we want to get settled here by midweek here, end of this week so that guys can settle into those positions. But if we don’t make those decisions now, it’s going to be harder to make them in two weeks down the road. So those are the hard decisions that we’ve been talking through and evaluating literally as we speak.”

Ohio State put on pads for the first time Wednesday. Real football is beginning, meaning offensive line play can really shine through, or holes can begin to truly emerge. The Buckeyes will find out quickly and report back, because the offensive line is simply too important to mess up.

A lot changed from last Thursday to this week. In the week ahead now, the Buckeyes expect to have much-needed answers at both left and right tackle.

“What we’re trying to do is project out how this all shakes out down the road, and what’s best in the long term,” Day said. “And I think by this time next week, I’ll have really good answers for you.”

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