Tegra Tshabola Has A Path To Playing Time For Buckeyes

With a roster as veteran-laden as Ohio State’s, there are not many position battles going on right now. Offensively, the quarterback competition between Will Howard and Devin Brown may get the most attention, but the ongoing clash at right guard should not be overlooked.

Unfortunately, the Ohio State offensive line has been dealing with a nasty virus during fall camp, which has made the competition at right guard a little stunted at the moment. Fortunately, it appears that every other starting position on the offensive line is settled.

Currently, redshirt sophomores Carson Hinzman and Tegra Tshabola are battling to be the Buckeyes’ right guard. Hinzman has the edge in experience, starting last year at center for Ohio State. Tshabola was a valuable reserve last year, but is looking for more this year.

There are things he will need to do to make that happen, however.

“Well, I think the first thing is you show that you know what you’re doing, and that’s the first level of learning,” head coach Ryan Day explained. “Do you know what you’re doing? And I know that sounds simple, but you have to know your assignments cold and there’s a lot of preparation that goes with that. I think he’s done that.

“And the second thing is, you know how to do it. You know the technique. You know the calls. There’s so much that comes with. You know how to do your job, and that can you do it consistently over time. Tegra has shown that he can do it. He’s shown that he knows what he’s doing.”

According to Day, Tshabola has changed his body in the offseason and will need to show that he gets stronger as a practice goes on. Can he wear on a defense? That’s what he wants from the entire offensive line every game this year. If Tshabola shows that he can do that, then “he’s going to find himself in games.”

Whether he can make that happen and also beat out Carson Hinzman remains to be seen. No offensive line coach or head coach is happy with just five starting-caliber players. Depth is always key, and competitions like this one only strengthen the situation. Ryan Day has been happy with both the progress and process of Tegra Tshabola to this point.

“Yeah, I mean, he wants to be here. He wants to be contributor Ohio State. And that does matter,” Day said. “I mean, there’s other places he could have gone and tried different avenues, but he stuck with it and it’s gonna pay off for him. It will if he just continues to get better and continues to show discipline and consistency. But we’re excited about what he did this offseason. You push through that, he’s gonna have every opportunity to go become a major contributor on offense.”

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