Trio has combined for 40 career starts with a fourth Buckeye having started five games

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State returns three starters from a 2021 offensive line that led the Big Ten in yards per carry in 2021 (5.54) and ranked third nationally, a fourth player who owns a handful of career starts, and three more players who have played in at least 12 games. That’s a good thing for a Buckeye offense that was No. 1 in the nation a year ago and would like nothing better than to duplicate that standing.

The returning starters are senior right tackle Dawand Jones (6-8, 350), junior left tackle Paris Johnson (6-6, 310) and junior center Luke Wypler (6-3, 300). All three started all 13 games last year with Jones a 14-game starter with a 2020 start in the win at Michigan State. These three are not only experienced, but talented:

§  Jones and Johnson were each second-team all-Big Ten Conference last year – Jones on the media ballot and Johnson on the coaches’ ballot – and each are on the preseason watch lists this year for the Rotary Lombardi Award and for the Outland Trophy;

§  Wypler was honorable mention all-Big Ten last year as a freshman and is on the watch list for the Rimington Trophy this year.

Already graduated guard Matthew Jones (6-4, 315) started twice last season, has five career starts at guard and has played in 29 games, second-most among the offensive lineman (Jones has 30). He, too, earned honorable mention all-Big Ten honors last season despite playing mostly in a reserve capacity.

Joining those four and running with the “ones” this fall is true sophomore guard Donovan Jackson (6-4, 315), who played in all 13 games last season and totaled 197 snaps, including 100 from the offensive line of scrimmage.

19 OL in fall camp for new coach Frye

Ohio State has 19 offensive lineman practicing right now, a contingent that includes five more players who have some level of playing experience. Most experienced out of this bunch is senior guard Enokk Vimahi (6-4, 310), who has played in 14 games, and junior guard/tackle Josh Fryar (6-6, 315), who played in 12 games last year as a red-shirt freshman.

Coaching Ohio State’s offensive line is associate head coach for offense, Justin Frye. The Elwood, Ind., native and University of Indiana graduate is in his first season at Ohio State after spending the past four seasons at UCLA, including the past three as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach.

UCLA had one of the top rushing attacks in the FBS the past two seasons. In 2021, the Bruins ranked 14th nationally with an average of 215.1 rushing yards per game and in 2020 they averaged 230.6 yards per game to rank 12th nationally. 

Ohio State Single Game Tickets

Single game tickets for a terrific slate of 2022 Ohio State home football games can be purchased online at http://go.osu.edu/fbtix.  

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