COLUMBUS, Ohio — In a season where Ohio State found its identity as the season has worn on, the offensive line has discovered an unorthodox way to operate.
With injuries to guard Thayer Munford, as well as offensive line coach Greg Studrawa — who required surgery after injuring a disk in his back during the Minnesota game — the Ohio State offensive line has continued to chug along without skipping a beat.
Operating with a revolving door up front, Studrawa said he was not expecting the season to go this way.
“I thought that it would be settled on five,” Studrawa said. “The fact that there's some younger guys that have come along so well and Matt Jones’ growth and improvement has made me do it because the kid deserves to play. With other guys banged up, I mean, you can't go 80 or 90 plays. It gives you an opportunity to get them out and get them rested and keep them healthy for the long haul.”
Junior Matthew Jones has made this unconventional operation work, filling in for Munford, who went down early in the Week 3 game against Tulsa and started against Akron Week 4.
Since he took the field against the Golden Hurricane, Jones has become a versatile sixth-man on the Ohio State offensive line, serving as a plug-and-play guard on both sides of the line while taking over the backup center spot while Harry Miller continues to work his way back from nagging injuries.
Studrawa pointed to Jones’ versatility for the shakeup in the offensive line rotation.
“He’s played well. He's made such great leaps and bounds and is coming to maturity level. He's finally now understanding what it takes, the extra time it takes, to put in,” Studrawa said. “The fact that it's not just about knowing your assignment, it's about knowing how to do it. He has spent so much more time now and invested so much more time that's why I'm rotating those guys now.”
Following his relief of Munford in the Tulsa game and his spot start against Akron, Jones saw serious playing time against Rutgers and Maryland, playing 59 snaps in those two games combined.
With attention to Jones’ emergence on the offensive line, Munford said he was unsurprised by his ability to fill in when needed.
“Matt Jones has been phenomenal,” Munford said. “Mark my words, he’s going to be a problem later on this year and possibly when he comes back next year.”
As the Buckeyes have taken the rotational approach to their offensive line, it has primarily occurred on the interior where Munford, Paris Johnson Jr. and Luke Wypler operate.
Johnson said having three guys rotating on the inside has shown the versatility of the Buckeyes’ front, which has already moved Johnson and Munford — two natural tackles — to the interior.
As the Buckeyes head into the brunt of their regular season, with four AP Top 25 opponents scheduled in the backend of the season, Studrawa said the rotation will also help the team keep their legs down the stretch.
“We're heading into the storm now, and so they got to be as healthy as they can,” Studrawa said. “If something does happen, like you saw we lost Dawand (Jones) that last play, Thayer goes back to tackle, Matt Jones in, Nick rolls, don’t skip a beat. Those things are nice problems to have.”
Head coach Ryan Day pointed to the unit’s love of the game and maturity as reasons for success this season, even while operating in unorthodox ways.
“I think they like football, and so anytime you have a bunch of guys who talk football but want to get it right, who take the calls very seriously,” Day said. “When I see them standing in the back, they're talking about the calls, they’re talking about, ‘What if this happens?’ That’s when you know you got a pretty good unit there.”
