Ohio State's most impactful offseason move so far came from the interior, literally.
Ohio State's most important and impactful transfer portal move came from its interior, literally.
Everyone wanted head coach Ryan Day to make a big splash and sign the flashy wide receiver or the can't-miss pass rusher. The Buckeyes did not do that this offseason.
Day and Ohio State had a very clear approach to their portal window. It was to shed money that was stuck on the bench, replace it with veterans, and be very selective with who they were bringing in to the program.
They shed a ton of the young weight that they had all over their roster to the tune of over 30 players leaving the program. By taking calculated chances, Day called his shot on the offensive line.
Ohio State's line of scrimmage was a big reason why they lost both of their games this season. They were dominated up front by two teams that had veteran players on the other side.
Now, Ohio State has that on its offensive line.
Luke Montgomery, Carson Hinzman, and Austin Siereveled all committed to returning to the Buckeyes.
The value of this simply cannot be understated.
First, it tells me that each guy didn't get the draft grade that they were looking for and still has room for major improvements.
Second, it says that these guys are ready to come back and try to capture that magic of the 2024 run. They know that what the team put out on the field in 2025 was simply unacceptable, and it wasn't just the last two games.
All year long, there were certain times when the Buckeyes' offense just didn't look right. They struggled at times to push the ball into the endzone from inside the low red zone, they had weird protection gaffs at points, and just consistently showed they weren't always on the same page.
It was never bad, and it was always masked by the offense beating up on inferior opponents, but the clues were there for what happened in the Big Ten Championship and the Cotton Bowl.
Lastly, we talk about it all the time, but the importance of an offensive line having continuity and chemistry cannot be understated. The unit up front needs to be five guys who are operating on the same train of thought and really having the same brain.
The left tackle needs to know what the right guard is doing, the same as the center needs to know what the right tackle is doing, and so on. More importantly, they don't just need to know it; they need to trust that they will do the job.
Ohio State brings back its three most veteran players up front, and that might be the most important move of their offseason.