Nicholas Petit-Frere came into Ohio State came up wanting to live up to the expectations set by the linemen that came before: Josh Myers, Isaiah Prince and Wyatt Davis.

Friday night, that officially became a reality.

The former Ohio State left tackle became the seventh Buckeyes offensive lineman to be drafted since 2018, being selected by the Tennessee Titans as the No. 69 selection in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

It didn't matter that the freshman came in as the No. 1 tackle in the 2018 class and the No. 11 player in the country, behind players like Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields and Micah Parsons. There was progress to be made and an impact to be had.

There were expectations to live up to.

He did so showcasing his athletic frame in his first season as the Buckeyes' starting left tackle, protecting quarterback C.J. Stroud's blind side with only 22 hurries, 26 pressures, two hits and two sacks in 768 snaps last season. Petit-Frere did not a single hurry or pressure in five games during the 2021 season: Akron, Rutgers, Indiana, Purdue and Michigan State.

It was a continuation of his work on the right side in 2020, a season where he allowed four pressures, one hurry, three hits and no sacks in 512 snaps including perfect performances against Nebraska, Penn State, Rutgers, Indiana and Clemson.

Petit-Frere seemed to be on the path to a first-round selection in 2022, until the Michigan game.

The redshirt junior offensive tackle struggled from the blind side, allowing a career high eight pressures and six hurries with one of his two sacks allowed all year, unable to contain David Ojabo or Aidan Hutchinson, who was the second overall pick by the Detroit Lions Thursday night, on the outside.

It was the biggest thing on his mind heading into his decision-making process, Petit-Frere said: is the Michigan game the way he wanted to end his Ohio State career?

For the offensive tackle, it's the way things had to happen.

“It was hard," Petit-Frere said. "That probably was one of the harder things to really cope with was that I really wanted to take this one opportunity, this one shot to go play in the NFL, to go run at the combine, for me to go back to Pro Day to do the things I saw all my former teammates, the teammates that I love, do. To have that kind of just sitting there, it hurts to this day. I told a lot of coaches, that’s probably the worst loss I have experienced in my life.”

It was a loss, he said, that fueled him through those workouts, preparing for the next level, progressing even more and becoming more physically, mentally and emotional prepared to take that next step and become a professional football player.

That's what Petit-Frere fell in love with. That's the player the X is getting: an athletic and fit tackle, who has the ability to play both sides, but that has a relentless energy and hunger to improve.

Even while he was fueled to improve and get better in an Ohio State uniform, Petit-Frere was able to meet expectations in four seasons with the Buckeyes.

He was an anchor for Ohio State on the offensive line for the past two seasons, being named as a second-team member of the All-Big Ten season in 2020 for his time spent at right tackle before moving to the left side in 2021, earning first-team All-American honors from CBS Sports and the Football Writers Association of America and first-team All-Big Ten honors.

He was a mainstay for the best offense in the country in 2021, averaging 45.7 points per game 561.5 yards per game,

Petit-Frere played on three consecutive Big Ten championship-winning teams and in two College Football Playoffs.

In 2019 and 2020, the Ohio State offensive tackle also helped the Buckeyes finish in the top-10 in the country in rushing yards per game.