Through two weeks, Buckeyes offensive line held back by inconsistency

COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said it without saying it: He needs more from his offensive line.

Following the No. 5 Buckeyes’ 35-7 win over Youngstown State Saturday, Day was asked if his new-look O-Line is still a work-in-progress.

He responded, “Yes.”

He was then asked if he could elaborate.

“No, not right now,” Day said bluntly.

The Buckeyes look the part of a team replacing three NFL draftees up front. The Ohio State offensive line is now equipped with a first-time starting center in Carson Hinzman, a San Diego State transfer tackle on the left side in Josh Simmons and a veteran but relatively inexperienced right tackle in Josh Fryar.

On one hand, even though Ohio State gave up two sacks Saturday, the Buckeyes were “solid” in pass protection, according to Day. The same could be said about the O-Line last week at Indiana, where the group didn’t allow a sack and conceded only four quarterback hurries, per Pro Football Focus, against a creative and revamped Hoosiers defense.

On the other hand, for the second week in a row, the Ohio State offensive line had its fair share of struggles in the run game, notably in short-yardage situations.

The Buckeyes were 1-of-7 on 3rd-and-short — in other words, four or fewer yards to gain — at Indiana. Of those seven third downs, Ohio State ran on five of them. And, of those five attempted rushing plays on 3rd-and-short, only one moved the chains.

Granted sometimes the ball carrier could have helped the line and its complementary blockers out — like when Kyle McCord missed out on a touchdown because he misread Chip Trayanum’s block on a quarterback draw — but the offensive line was often the culprit.

Flash forward to Saturday against Youngstown State, and Ohio State was 2-of-4 on 3rd-and-short. One of those failed conversions was a 3rd-and-3 Trayanum run in the second quarter that was two yards shy of the sticks. That’s not to mention a 3rd-and-1 toss play for fellow running back TreVeyon Henderson that went backwards in the first quarter but was ultimately negated because of a Buckeyes holding penalty that backed them up even further.

Speaking of penalties, Ohio State committed six against Youngstown. The offensive line accounted for half that total.

Josh Simmons was responsible for the aforementioned holding infraction as well as 15-yard illegal hands to the face penalty in the second quarter that brought back a 17-yard Henderson touchdown. Henderson still had reservations for six that drive, but that doesn’t change the fact that Simmons has carried over a troubling issue from SDSU.

Last year, as the Aztecs’ everyday right tackle, he led all offensive tackles nationally with 17 penalties, according to PFF. It’s also worth noting that Simmons — who had never played left tackle before this season — was the only Buckeyes O-Lineman to allow more than one pressure last week at Indiana, per PFF.

Hinzman registered the line’s other penalty. He was flagged for holding on the first drive of the game, negating a nine-yard Henderson run that would have gifted the Buckeyes a fresh set of downs. That was another penalty that didn’t doom Ohio State — it ended up scoring on that series, too — but it could have against stiffer competition.

Later in Day’s postgame press conference, he was asked when he needs to see linear progress from his offensive line.

“Like yesterday,” Day said. “We have urgency, we want it now. We’re not going to wait around and say, ‘Well, we’ll get it next week.’ We got to get it fixed now. There were some good things today, for sure. But to use the term ‘linear improvement,’ I think it’s just the consistency. We can do it. I know we have the talent. Our guys are very, very talented.”

Day continued: “So we have to look at what we’re doing schematically and make sure it’s not too complex. Make sure it’s simple, because all we will ask them to do is play really, really hard and execute. Effort and execution were the two things that we focused on all week.”

Day said, when watching the film back, he’ll note those two things.

A Buckeyes lineman will get a “check” if the effort was there on a particular play. Same thing goes for the execution. That all factors into who grades out as a “champion,” Day explained.

Keep in mind, last week, Fryar was the lone Buckeyes O-Line to grade out as a champion.

Although the line’s progress isn’t linear yet, there is room for optimism and evidence of breakthrough potential. For the most part, both McCord and redshirt freshman quarterback Devin Brown — who played three drives Saturday — had ample time to throw the ball against Youngstown State.

And the Buckeyes still rushed for 123 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

“I think the offensive line is probably one of the most important positions in terms of everybody just being on the same page,” McCord said postgame. “Receiver, you can be a one-man show and kind of win your route and all that, but the line, they have to do a really great job of communicating. All five of them have to be on the same page. And I feel like we’re doing a good job.

“Obviously, I don’t think we are where we want to be yet. But looking back on last week, and then I think how we played this week, definitely a step in the right direction. And we got five really talented guys across the board. Five guys who are really tough, too. So I think, just as an offense in general, it’s just about taking that next step. And I think the line is included in that.”

The clock is ticking for that next step. Because No. 10 Notre Dame, one of the most physical teams in the country, is welcoming the Buckeyes into South Bend in just two short weeks.

The post Through two weeks, Buckeyes offensive line held back by inconsistency appeared first on On3.