Ohio State Offensive Line Boasts Several Coaches, One Voice

One of the biggest changes that came to college football in the past few years that flew under the radar on the outside was the NCAA’s decision last summer to allow any football staff member to provide on-field coaching and instruction.

Previously, only the head coach, 10 assistant coaches, and four graduate assistant coaches were permitted to engage in on-field instruction. This prohibited quality control coaches and analysts from helping on the field and limited them to off-field work or film study.

Programs can now have unlimited staffs, but too many cooks in the kitchen isn’t always a good thing.

The Buckeye football staff has gotten larger than it was a year ago, but it has been done carefully and with purpose. This is especially true on the offensive line.

A year ago, the offensive line had Justin Frye as the position coach, as well as Tim Drevno as a quality control coach and Mike Sollene as the graduate assistant. All three are now gone as Frye left for the NFL and Sollene landed his own room at UNLV, so head coach Ryan Day went and hired Tyler Bowen away from Virginia Tech to head up the offensive line room this year. Bowen will be doing it with some help, however.

Along with Bowen, the Buckeyes also added former Purdue offensive line coach Marcus Johnson and former Oklahoma State offensive line coach Charlie Dickey. Together, Dickey and Johnson have about four decades of Power 4 coaching experience. They are also joined by quality control coach Austin Fields, who spent the last three years as a graduate assistant coach at Virginia Tech with Bowen.

Three’s Company

Having that many coaches sounds great, but only if they have the same message.

“That’s been very important to us to make sure that we have one voice,” Bowen said this spring. “I think what Coach Day has structured here, we have a chance to have the best offensive line resources in the country for those guys.”

The Buckeyes have four sets of eyes watching the offensive line. After each play or series of plays, a player will get real-time feedback so they know what they did right and what they did wrong. They can then correct what they did wrong on their next rep or continue doing what they did correctly.

But those corrections have to be based on an agreed-upon set of rules and expectations. Ohio State has three experienced coaches on the offensive line. They’ve seen a lot and they all have differences, but those differences cannot be in what they teach or how they teach it.

How does Bowen make sure his coaches stay on the same page?

“It all starts with myself, making sure that we meet, we install,” Bowen said. “So we meet, install from under direction of [offensive coordinator] Coach [Brian] Hartline, right? We get on the same page. ‘This is exactly how we teach a down block. This is exactly how we teach a gap drive. This is exactly how we’re teaching a combo on the backside, inside zone,’ whatever the case may be. But we get on the same page. We make sure that gets messaged in the meeting room. It’s one voice first.”

In order to make all of this work, Bowen said he and his staff can’t have big egos. Their goal is to serve the players and “make sure that they’re the best versions of themselves.” Being able to provide more coaching in an immediate fashion allows each player to get more out of the reps.

“It’s been awesome. I think the guys would say that it’s been a huge resource for them,” Bowen said. “The amount of reps we’re able to get in a practice setting, and also detailed reps, right? I’ve got one set of eyes. So having multiple sets of eyes, we’re able to coach in real time, try to make corrections at practice. So that part’s been fun, and I think it’s been better than we expected.

Come And Knock On Their Door

The Buckeyes currently have 16 offensive linemen on the team, so having four coaches that a player can talk to generally means there is actually somebody available to help out. No one coach is spread too thin, which is good news for the players — especially a true freshman like Jayvon McFadden.

How does he like having so many resources to turn to?

“Great. I mean, every single one of them talks the same thing,” McFadden said. “That’s the biggest part for me because I can go to Coach Bowen, I can go to Coach Dickey, I can go to Coach Johnson, I can go to Coach Fields, and they all are going to tell me the same thing. They all are there to just help. Like, I can meet with Coach Fields, Coach Johnson, Coach Dickey every day. They’ll always make time for me. Anytime I pick up my phone and call them and ask for a meeting, they’re there. So it’s amazing.”

Freshmen offensive linemen aren’t expected to contribute much on the field. Taking part in spring ball in their first year is an opportunity for a head start, but the learning and development has always taken time. With an extra set or two of experienced eyes, however, the time could go quicker and the development could take hold faster.

“It definitely helps a lot, whenever you have a question, it’s so easy to get feedback,” said freshman left tackle Carter Lowe. “I mean, you don’t have to ask just Coach Bowen, you can ask Coach Dickey if you want. Whoever you want to ask, there’s just so many resources. Compared to last year, we had three guys. It’s been a lot different, and I’ve been liking it a lot more.

They’ll Be Waiting For You

The Buckeyes are replacing four starters from last year’s offensive line. Fortunately for them, they have an offensive line room this spring that features six players with starting experience. It’s a good mix of experience and youth, and it’s not just the freshmen who are benefiting from the new coaching staff.

Last year’s starting center Seth McLaughlin has seen it first hand. He is currently still rehabbing from a torn Achilles tendon last year, so he’s spent some of his time taking in as many practices this spring as he could.

“It’s been fun to see the coaching style of Coach Bowen, and all the offensive line coaches,” McLaughlin said recently. “Each play, after a play is run, you see four offensive line coaches go and coach up an individual guy, and I know it’s going to pay dividends for those people in this room.”

One of those people in that room is redshirt sophomore Austin Siereveld, who has spent his spring playing everywhere but center. He started multiple games last year at left guard but has been spending a good deal of time this spring at right tackle. Given his versatility and the importance of his flexibility, he’s been getting plenty of feedback from his coaches.

“They’re awesome,” Siereveld said. “They’re great. A lot of eyes, and it’s awesome because everyone is watching something. It’s not like someone’s only watching this play, so you know what’s going on.”

On the field or off of it, every player is encouraged to approach an offensive line coach. As Carter Lowe said, the players can find the assistant coach “that speaks to you in the way you like it.”

But they’ll all be relaying the same message and coaching points.

“Yeah, it’s great,” said redshirt freshman guard Devontae Armstrong. “We’ve got four coaches, all with a ton of experience from pretty much all over the place. So it’s picking their brains, with their background and how they taught it, and just having an individualized experience of always getting some extra work in. Having that one-on-one more so than just having one or two coaches, that’s what I’ve really kind of loved so far.”

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