COLUMBUS, Ohio — From the moment Justin Frye arrived at Ohio State he did something Paris Johnson Jr. wasn’t used to.
The former UCLA offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, during his meetings with his new line, had the younger players at the front of the room, closest to the screen, and the older players in the back; the opposite to what the junior tackle was used to.
In that simple switch, Johnson sees accountability in his new coach, someone he’s grown close to, saying that he talks to Frye, strength coach Mickey Marotti and sophomore guard Donovan Jackson most, bouncing ideas off of each person, getting clarification in training.
For the Ohio State offensive line, Frye’s a change. But it’s a change the Buckeyes seem to be gravitating to.
No matter the age or experience of the player, Frye starts at the same level, Jackson said. He starts at the bottom.
“He tries to build from the foundation up,” the sophomore said, whether it’s with feet or hand drills, gradually working them together. “So he’s like, ‘We’re going to work on the simple things and build from there.’ So obviously, it’s spring time. It’s not fall camp yet. So he’s like ‘It’s room for improvement.’”
In Frye’s approach, it’s similar to the balance between individual and team drills, working step-by-step before putting everything together a lineman needs to be successful, which was his message from the first time he stepped into the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
“That’s your number one job as a coaches to develop your guys, right?” Frye said in January when he was first hired. “You got to maximize each individual kid, right? Doesn’t matter which one you’re talking about, to make sure they play to their ability level.”
And he’s not afraid to get involved in the action.
“He can show you what to do,” Jackson said. “I think for some of the guys, that was really good for them, seeing what they had to do right instead of hearing what they had to do.
“So if I like set a little bit too offside, I’m offset, he’s like, ‘Nah, this is what you got to do.’ And he actually kicks and shows me like ‘OK, now I see it.’”
Redshirt senior Matthew Jones said he’s already learned a lot from Frye, learning how to control and attack the block and work your feet, calling the technique a big change from what he was learning under former offensive line coach Greg Studrawa.
Jones said there is a learning process with each coach, though, something he’s in the middle of right now.
“Even when Coach Stud was there, he was a pretty good coach. I really thank him for that. And even with the adjustment with Coach Frye, it’s the same thing,” Jones said. “You take a coach in and you just learn from him and just trust.”
Frye had questions of his own coming into his first spring with Ohio State, whether it was how members of his room competed or what his linemen did when faced with a small amount of adversity.
The Ohio State offensive line coach admitted these were cliches, but they taught him what he needed to know about his team as it transitioned from individual workouts to team workouts to the showcase when it was time to turn on the lights.
“The best players show themselves,” Frye said. “Whoever those five best are, they are going to rear their head pretty quick. And how do you accelerate their growth?”
It’s something Dawand Jones bought into.
After contemplating whether or not to leave as a likely fourth-or-fifth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the offensive tackle returned, hoping to boost his draft stock to the first or second round, something he already trusts Frye to help him do.
“I bought (into) him a lot,” Dawand Jones said. “I listened to him. He’s like a mentor almost. Like every time I need something, he’s right there. Like, he’s my right-hand man.”
