Ohio State has the most offensive line continuity in the country. How much does it matter?
The Buckeyes opted not to retool their offensive line via the transfer portal, banking on experience and continuity heading into 2026.
COLUMBUS — Until further notice, old wins in college football. Roster building has become a race to get as many guys in their 20s (sometimes mid-20s) as you can afford. That age and experience seem to pay off most on the line of scrimmage, on both the offensive and defensive lines. Got a bunch of old dudes pushing people around? You’ve got a shot.
Experience rules the day. What about experience blended with continuity? What can that extra ingredient of familiarity add to the final product? Ohio State’s offensive line is about to show us.
The Buckeyes probably do not have the oldest offensive line in the country. I didn’t have time to calculate the average age for each projected offensive line. Suffice it to say, Ohio State’s O-line won’t be young. The average age mid-season should be something like 21.5 years, give or take. That’s pretty good. I’d just assume some team has an older group. OSU also doesn’t have the most returning experience in terms of career snaps, but it’s close. I didn’t have time to add up the whole country for that either, but I can tell you that the career offensive line snaps for Ohio State’s projected starting five (I’m using Ian Moore as the fifth, but the math doesn’t change much, no matter which candidate you pick) ranks fourth among the top 12 teams in ESPN’s preseason SP+ rankings.
I can tell you this as a fact: Ohio State has the most offensive line continuity in the country — something that feels like it should be gold in today’s college football.
“I think it’s big when you have guys in your program for multiple years, and you know where they’re at,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said this week. “Guys really take big jumps on the offensive line with how things slow down, the overall maturity, the experience, and, physically, just growing into their bodies. It’s really the most developmental position that we have in college football. When you see guys step up and play really well in year four and year five, it’s because of all those things. The accumulation of these games starts to show up.”
Ohio State is banking on its offensive line continuity being the X-factor that spurs improvement this year.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Bill and Doug Show: Premium Ohio State Writing & Talk to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.