College Football expert Phil Steele is bullish on the Buckeyes' offensive line heading into 2026.
Ohio State's 2025 season proved that no matter how good a team is at its skill positions, a winning football team wins at the line of scrimmage. Simple as that.
Heading into the 2026-27 season, Ohio State is basically running back their offensive line from last year in the hopes that a year's worth of experience is going to be enough to push them over the edge.
College football expert Phil Steele believes that not only will the Buckeyes' offensive line be good in 2026, but it will be one of the best in the entire country next year.
Former ESPN Insider turned college football expert Phil Steele released his College Football Preview, which is basically like the holy grail of the sport. Steele takes the time and writes a review on each and every college football team and ranks them in several different areas.
For the Buckeyes, they are at the top of the list in nearly every category, including the top offensive lines.
According to Steele, the Buckeyes have the No. 2-ranked offensive line in the country behind just the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
That's a great company to be in, as the Irish are always one of the best units in the country every single year.
For Ohio State, their group up front needs to be the engine of the team. The reality around the Buckeyes is that outside of No. 4, the rest of the team is a major question mark. Bo Jackson is pretty much the most sure thing outside of Jeremiah Smith and everyone, including the quarterback Julian Sayin, needs a steady offensive line to give them a foundation.
Everyone up front will be returning outside of the right guard position, which was a major issue for Ohio State last year. They filtered through a couple of different guys up front and never got the production that they probably needed and definitely desired.
They will lean on Austin Siereveld and Luke Montgomery to be the leaders of the group and the leaders of the team. Those two simply need to be the best players on the Buckeyes' offensive line with no questions asked.
On the other side, Phillip Daniels will get his second year at the right tackle spot for the Buckeyes and will look to continue the really solid play that he showed last year. Finally, the anchor of the entire line is center Carson Hinzman.
Hinzman will also need to be a leader of the line and a leader of the team, as he is one of the most tenured Buckeyes left on the roster.
If the Buckeyes are to have success next year, it will be because their offensive line is the catalyst. They need it, and they need it in a big way. If they can be the second-best line in the country, then get prepared for a very long run to the National Championship next year.
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