Greg Studrawa Fired Up About Ohio State Offensive Line Potential, Depth

Coach Stud said his group has embraced the incredibly difficult offseason and he's ready to see how they perform, knowing their ceiling is perhaps the best line in program history.

Offensive line coach Greg Studrawa knows this has been an incredibly challenging offseason, particularly on his position group. Think about it - how do you prepare an offensive line to play and be physical when you couldn't actually block someone all summer because of the CoVID regulations put in place?

Considering the amount of time his players had away from the facility and the team-advised strength staff, the demands of eating the right foods (and enough of it) while the players were all at home, and their challenge of doing mental reps and watching a lot of tape once they returned to campus but couldn't be physical on the practice field, it's been a quite a task to get these guys ready to go for Saturday.

That's why it's particularly notable that coach Studrawa was as fired up as he was during Tuesday's media availability about this unit for the beginning of the season.

“I was so proud of the guys last year because I thought that was one of the best lines in the country," Studrawa said. "I think these guys can be better ... The potential for this group to be a great offensive line is right there. Now they have to go out and do what last year's group did.”

His tone and demeanor during the entire press conference was contagious, as he raved about every player on the line. He's been particularly focused on building depth this year because of all the challenges that come with playing during a pandemic.

While the Buckeyes rounded out their starting offensive line with Nicholas Petit-Frere and Harry Miller today, Studrawa said his second-team offensive line currently consists of Paris Johnson Jr. and Dawand Jones at tackle, Matthew Jones and Enokk Vimahi at guard and Luke Wypler at center.

The other critically important thing that has helped him build depth is the new NCAA rule that won't prevent teams from redshirting a player if they appear in more than five games.

Regarding starting right tackle Thayer Munford, Studrawa says he is currently 318 pounds and in the best shape of his life. “There's nothing holding him back now. He's not worried about what's going to happen with his back or anything” after missing time with injuries last year.

Meanwhile, Petit-Frere's mother is glad that he's back on campus because he "ate her out of house and home" according to coach Studrawa. “He's done a great job during this pandemic ... He has really changed his body. He's bigger, he's stronger, he's 315 pounds ... his offseason development has really pushed him to the top of that position.”

This weekend will be an immediate test for the men up front, as Nebraska returns a lot of experience in its front seven defenders. While the D-Line is perhaps the Huskers main defensive concern heading into the year, they've got a lot of playing experience and will present a good challenge to open the season.

“They're big, strong guys," Studrawa said. It's going to be a test for us to be able to move them off the ball ... we've got to come off low pad level, be physical against a group like this.”