Tegra Tshabola named starting Ohio State RG for opener, others will rotate in
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day revealed Tuesday that third-year lineman Tegra Tshabola will make his first career start Saturday afternoon against Akron. Tshabola will get the nod at right guard, but other players will rotate in at the position versus the Zips, too, according to Day.
Fellow third-year lineman Carson Hinzman and Tshabola have been taking turns with the first-team offense, at least when Hinzman’s been available — he and several other Buckeyes O-Linemen have dealt with illness at points this month. While Hinzman has significantly more game experience, Tshabola had a steady presence in training camp, and that benefited his development, particularly alongside starting right tackle Josh Fryar.
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Hinzman started all 12 regular season games last season at center. Along the way, though, he had his fair share of issues. He gave up 17 pressures, the third most of any Big Ten center last season, according to Pro Football Focus. No other Ohio State offensive lineman gave up that many pressures in 2023, except it’s important to note Hinzman didn’t concede a sack.
Still, while the other four starting Buckeyes O-Linemen posted PFF run blocking grades of at least 65, Hinzman’s sat at 54.8. Not only was Hinzman a first-year starter, but he was a first-year starting center who had to pilot the O-Line for six road games, more than Ohio State typically plays. And not just any six road games but a slate that included trips to Michigan, Wisconsin and Notre Dame, where he gave up seven pressures, per PFF. Navigating silent counts proved difficult, so did maintaining weight, as Hinzman said he played as light as 280 pounds last season.
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Hinzman was benched for the Cotton Bowl, with Day citing Hinzman’s practice struggles leading up tot he New Year’s Six matchup against Missouri as the reason why. Since, Hinzman has rebounded with a strong offseason, particularly in the weight room, where he’s worked with strength and conditioning coach Mick Marotti to reach 298 pounds.
Hinzman is more confident making calls at the line and has impressed competing for both center and, notably, right guard, where he even started during this year’s spring game. What’s more, Hinzman was one of three Buckeyes offensive linemen who earned “Iron Buckeye” status from Marotti this summer.
Mainly competing at right tackle, Tshabola didn’t win a starting job last offseason and instead played just 32 offensive snaps, 19 fewer than the season prior, over five games, per PFF.
Tshabola played a season-high 10 offensive snaps against Western Kentucky in Week 3 and had an increased role on special teams, where registered 70 snaps (all on field goal team, according to PFF). Perhaps most notably, he logged five offensive snaps against Missouri in the Cotton Bowl. That game, Tshabola served as the Buckeyes’ extra tackle in their “Bison” package. So it’s especially relevant that Ohio State ran for 41 yards on its five carries with six offensive linemen, according to Sports Information Solutions.
Tshabola is trying to take the next step this year with an uptick in consistency. He played right guard during the first-team offense’s second and third drives of this year’s spring game and continued to progress this summer, in part because of his availability.
Now Tshabola’s a Buckeyes starter. If he keeps making the most of his burgeoning opportunity Saturday, he can make his case for why he should be the choice at right guard for the long haul.
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