Ohio State's Justin Frye Intensely Focused On Fundamentals During Fall Camp
While Ohio State returns three starters from an offensive line that ranked third nationally in yards per carry and allowed just 17 sacks last season, there were glaring issues up front in the biggest games of the year.
In order to correct those issues, which included uncharacteristic penalties and a lack of execution in short-yardage situations, new offensive line coach Justin Frye has prioritized fundamentals during fall camp.
“Base, bend, balance and burst,” Frye said on Monday when asked what he’s focused on during the preseason. “Great offensive linemen play with great base and great bend, they’re in balance, they’re not on the ground and they burst. They run off the ball, they pass set with urgency, they know what they’re doing and they play really, really fast.
“As a coach, I can’t say, ‘Oh, we’re looking pretty good, we’re veteran guys, let’s go on to something in right field.’ At the end of the day, you have to work those techniques and fundamentals and put them in the toolbox every day because you have to pull those out in the middle of the game.
“We block them, they don’t sack C.J. (Stroud), they don’t tackle the running backs, the ball is down the field. If we don’t block them, then they tackle us. That’s as elementary as it gets, so we try to stay focused on that every day so that on Sept. 3, when we need to pull that out, it’s shiny and polished and ready to go.”
In addition to the three returning starters in center Luke Wypler and offensive tackles Dawand Jones and Paris Johnson, the Buckeyes will have plenty of experience at the guard positions in fifth-year senior Matt Jones and sophomore Donovan Jackson, who both appeared in all 13 games last season.
Behind them, there are a host of players chomping at the bit for playing time, including redshirt junior Enokk Vimahi, redshirt sophomores Josh Fryar and Jakob James and redshirt freshman Zen Michalski. They’ll provide some much-needed depth for a unit that was a bit shorthanded in 2021.
“Right now, they’re just working. They’re buying in,” Frye said. “There’s not a guy out there right now that’s just showing up. Those guys are using their opportunities, whether they win the rep or lose the rep, they’re using them right now.”
Frye, who replaced Greg Studrawa this offseason, earned a reputation of being an intense coach during his time at Boston College and UCLA, which both saw an immediate improvement in the run game upon his arrival. He believes that emotion carries over to his players.
“That’s the way to coach,” Frye said. “They feel you. They’ve got to feel your passion. You can’t just stand back there and just bark at a dude and cross your arms and look at your script. If you’re in it with them, if you’re passionate with them, if they feel that, then they’ll thrive off that.
“They’re craving coaching and teaching and getting better. If the player and the kid feels that you care about them, you’re pushing them, you’re trying to maximize them and you’re making them better, then that’s all that matters.”
On the other hand, Frye’s time as an offensive lineman at Indiana, where he set a school record for consecutive starts from 2002-06, also allows him to relate to his players in ways that draw them close to him off the field.
“He’s been awesome,” Wypler said. “Just now, he was sitting in the cold tubs with us joking that he’s sore. I’m kind of looking at him like, ‘Yeah, all right.’ But it’s pretty cool having him out there with us.
“He’s been through it. He knows this process very well, knows what camp is like, what it’s like to be here all day, be sore and be tired. It’s pretty unique that he can show us, not only just tell us what to do.”
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