Greg McElroy reveals why he left Ohio State off his list of Top 10 offensive lines in college football

Ahead of the 2025 college football season, analyst Greg McElroy broke down the 10 offensive lines he ranked as the best in the country. That list was, notably, missing the Ohio State Buckeyes, who go into the season as defending national champions.

On his show Always College Football, McElroy explained the decision. The Buckeyes do get an honorable mention from McElroy. It’s just that Ohio State still has too many questions going into the season.

“Finally, Ohio State, who I have in the honorable mention category,” McElroy said. “They’re always going to have top-level talent coming in from high school, and at first, they were not included on the honorable mentions. Upon doing a little bit more of a dive, they have one returning starter on paper, but if you actually look at how many guys played meaningful minutes down the stretch because of some of the injuries they had to overcome last year, they’re actually coming back in pretty good shape.”

The Buckeyes do deal with some turnover from last season. Two offensive linemen were selected in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Another three linemen would leave the team through the Transfer Portal. That would force head coach Ryan Day to address some gaps by bringing in two new transfer offensive linemen, to go along with four incoming freshmen.

Even with that turnover, McElroy sees plenty to be confident about at Ohio State. That starts with the interior of the offensive line, where the Buckeyes do have some good experience.

“You get your center back in [Carson] Hinzman,” McElroy said. “Luke Montgomery is going to slide in there at left guard. You’ve got Tegra Tshabola in there at right guard. So, your interior three, I feel great about.”

That isn’t to say Ohio State doesn’t have questions along the offensive line. In particular, McElroy has some concerns at tackle. It’s just that there’s enough trust in what Ohio State has proven itself capable of doing at the position over the years that the Buckeyes still warrant an honorable mention going into the season.

“Tackle, at times, let’s be real, at times tackle last year was a bit of a headache. They eventually got things sorted out. I kind of just trust this offense in general to find talented pieces,” McElroy said. “And at tackle, I think they can overcome guys that might have the occasional lapse in high-level play. We’ve seen it in the past. So, Ohio State is a team I’m kind of giving the benefit of the doubt to, but I feel good about it, given the way they’ve recruited and the talent they can assemble.”

Ohio State opens the season at home on August 30th. There, they’ll host the Texas Longhorns in a College Football Playoff rematch.