The 38-year-old previously worked with head coach Ryan Day at Temple and Boston College.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day announced on Tuesday morning that he has hired UCLA’s Justin Frye to be the program’s new associate head coach for offense and offensive line coach, confirming our report from early Friday morning.
“I am thrilled to welcome Justin, his wife, Lauren, and their family to Ohio State and the football program,” Day said in a statement. “Justin and I have worked on the same staffs together and I’ve seen first-hand how good he is at developing his players as well building personal connections with them. I believe he’ll do great things here to enhance his room and our offense as a whole.”
The 38-year-old Frye replaces former offensive line coach Greg Studrawa, who was fired on Thursday after six seasons with the Buckeyes.
Frye began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater in 2007, then spent two more seasons as a graduate assistant at Florida under former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer.
His first job as an offensive line coach came at Temple, where he was later joined by Day, who served as the Owls’ offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach in 2012.
The two coached together for two more seasons at Boston College, as well, with Day serving as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach and Frye as the offensive line coach, until Day headed to the NFL in 2015.
Frye ultimately spent five seasons with the Eagles, with his offensive line paving they way for 2,000-yard rusher and 1,500-yard rusher at running back and a 1,000-yard rusher at quarterback during his tenure. He was then hired to the same position at UCLA in 2018.
The Bruins rushing attack improved by more than 40 yards per game from the previous season under Frye’s direction, and he was promoted to offensive coordinator and offensive line coach the following year as a result.
The unit has continued to see improvement in the years since, as the Bruins rushed for at least 200 yards in all eight of their wins this fall and averaged 215.1 yards per game. UCLA also led the Pac-12 in scoring and was second in total offense with 36.5 points and 441.2 yards per game.
Frye becomes the second coach to join the Buckeyes’ staff this offseason, joining former Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.
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