Three Biggest Position Battles for Ohio State Football

Few FBS programs retained as much talent and lit up the transfer portal as Ohio State football this past offseason. That tells you and me one thing: Ryan Day and the Buckeyes are on a mission this season.

It's national title or bust as the pressure is on a program that hasn’t defeated Michigan in three years or won a national championship in nearly a decade, but this is an Ohio State team that has all of the pieces to climb the mountain-top and hoist the CFP trophy in January.

With fall camp approaching, here is a breakdown of the three biggest position battles at Ohio State heading into the season.

Quarterback

If you take a look at Ohio State’s schedule, the Buckeyes will more than likely be double-digit favorites in the first five games prior to their highly-anticipated Big Ten showdown at Oregon on October 12.

This means that the offense is not going to reveal too much and the quarterback battle could be shuffled around in that slew of games.

Will Howard is the perceived starter — and very well will be come Week 1 vs Akron — and the Buckeyes did not bring him to Columbus to be a backup considering he is a grad transfer with ample experience at Kansas State.

That does not mean freshman Julian Sayin or sophomore Devin Brown are out of contention for the starting job. Both young players are unproven but provide plenty of upside to a quarterback room that is destined to improve upon last season’s passing numbers.

Could this be a similar situation to what Nick Saban had at Alabama early on last season? Perhaps. But it seems as if the Buckeyes are confident in rolling with Howard in the long run.

Right Guard

Because highly-touted Seth McLaughlin transferred in from Alabama and will be the plug-and-play starter at center, Carson Hinzman (starting center in 2023) is now forced to shift to right guard opposite of All-American Donovan Jackson. That’s where things get crowded on the depth chart.

Versatile sophomore Luke Montgomery, who played in seven games as a true freshman last year, took starting reps at right guard throughout the spring. Enter Hinzman and 6-foot-6, 330-pound Tegra Tshabola into the mix, and will all battle for the starting job in August. Whoever is named the starter will be featured in what is arguably the top interior offensive line in college football.

Linebacker

Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’ decision to get creative and move Sonny Styles to linebacker adds an interesting dynamic to the front seven.

If Knowles uses a three-linebacker look, that slots in Styles, middle linebacker Cody Simon, and nickelback Jordan Hancock, leaving out former five-star recruit CJ Hicks.

Styles and Hicks will compete for the “WILL” linebacker spot in fall camp, but I would not be shocked if both defenders get similar amounts of playing time throughout the season.

Styles is projected to take on a hybrid defensive end/linebacker role as well as a drop-back defender; utilized in a similar way to how Clemson used Isaiah Simmons several years ago. Hicks, who was the top-rated linebacker in the Class of 2022, is primed to be the next great Ohio State defender once he gets his shot.

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