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Closer Look: Phillip Daniels Brings Needed Experience To Tackle

Tony Gerdeman 4 min read March 16, 2025

The Buckeyes went into the transfer portal but stayed in the Big Ten to sign Minnesota right tackle Phillip Daniels (6-5 315). As a redshirt freshman last year, Daniels played in all 12 regular season games for the Gophers, starting the final four. He was initially installed into the lineup due to some necessary shuffling following an injury to the team’s right guard. He remained in the lineup the rest of the regular season.

This is a return back home for Daniels, who attended Cincinnati Princeton High School where he was a three-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting class. The Buckeyes signed the top three in-state offensive linemen in that class, landing Luke Montgomery, Joshua Padilla, and Austin Siereveld.

Daniels was the No. 5 offensive lineman in Ohio and was ranked the No. 770 player overall and the No. 64 interior lineman in the nation. He signed with Minnesota over offers from Kentucky, Purdue, Boston College, Pittsburgh, and others.

What To Like

The Buckeyes are in search of two new starting offensive tackles, so the first thing to like about Phillip Daniels is that he comes into Ohio State’s offensive line room with starting experience. He has already been relied upon and carried the weight of those expectations. The weight may be a bit heavier at Ohio State, but the experience will still help him at his new school.

Daniels was one of the Gophers’ best run blockers in his four games last season. He is able to move defenders when he is in attack mode. He doesn’t always bat 1.000 when he fires off of the line of scrimmage, but that’s typical of young players. Being forced into action last season wasn’t part of the plan, but he stepped up and responded well.

The Potential

There are some nimble moments throughout all of these clips, but there are also some flat-footed moments that allow Phillip Daniels to get beat. Perfect technique is a never-ending quest, but he does show the kind of athleticism that can handle a wide range of movement. He also shows some good recovery ability.

Quicker defensive ends understandably gave Daniels issues in his four starts last year, but the struggles that he had in his second start against Rutgers didn’t show up as much the following week against a much more talented Penn State defensive front. Consistency was an issue throughout his four starters, however. One week after a solid showing against Penn State, there were some struggles in the Black Friday rivalry game against Wisconsin.

The Expectation

Phillip Daniels will be rolling through reps with the rest of the Ohio State offensive linemen this spring. He will get his feet under him on what life is like as a Buckeye on the practice field. New offensive line coach Tyler Bowen is going to want a good, long look at everybody, which means everybody comes in with a fresh start. Daniels’ experience should give him an initial leg up, but he’ll need to keep it that way.

By fall camp, Daniels is expected to compete for a starting spot. How well he does this spring will go a long way in making his opening statement. The Buckeyes return virtually no experience at tackle, but that doesn’t mean they don’t return any talent. This isn’t going to be a competition that Daniels can just show up and win.

In the clips below, Daniels holds up well against Penn State defensive ends Abdul Carter and Dani Dennis-Sutton. That is the expectation for him at Ohio State as well, but maybe in 2026 more than 2025.

Bottom Line

The bottom line is that the Buckeyes needed help at offensive tackle, so Phillip Daniels enters the 2025 season as depth more so than a starter. He’ll have every opportunity to compete for a job at right tackle or left tackle, but so will several others.

The experience will help him, but he’s still just a redshirt sophomore, which is about when offensive linemen generally start to put up a fight at Ohio State. If he doesn’t win a job this fall, that doesn’t mean he’s behind schedule. It just means that he’ll need to keep working. Based on the Buckeyes’ 2024 season, it also means that everybody in the two-deep will want to be ready for anything.

Daniels has experience stepping up when called upon, which could happen once again in a 16-game season.

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