Ohio State adding multiple analysts with offensive line experience

Ohio State is expected to hire multiple analysts with a breadth of offensive line experience, a source told On3 on Wednesday. The Buckeyes are hiring Marcus Johnson and Charlie Dickey, who will work closely with new run game coordinator Tyler Bowen.

Johnson is the former Purdue, Missouri and Mississippi State offensive line coach, most recently with the Boilermakers this past season. Dickey has spent time at Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Utah, with his most recent stop with the Cowboys.

A former NFL starting offensive lineman, Johnson was a Second-Team All-SEC selection at Ole Miss in the early 2000s. He reunited with David Cutcliffe following his NFL career at Duke, working his way up to offensive line coach for the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

Dickey is a 36-year coaching veteran and joined the Oklahoma State coaching staff in 2019 after coaching for 10 years under Bill Snyder at Kansas State.

Bowen was hired earlier this month, following Justin Frye taking the offensive line job with the Arizona Cardinals. The former Jacksonville Jaguars assistant has been with the Hokies since 2022 and has experience coaching the offensive line. Before stints with the Hokies and Jaguars, Bowen was a Penn State assistant on the same staff as Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry.

Bowen was the Nittany Lions’ co-offensive coordinator during the 2020 season and tight ends coach in 2018 and 2019. He developed 2021 NFL second-round pick Pat Freiermuth, who posted eight touchdowns in 2020, the second-most of any tight end in the FBS that year. He was the primary recruiter for offensive tackle Olu Fashanu and tight end Tyler Warren during his time at Penn State.

“This was going to be part of the deal,” Day told FOX’s Joel Klatt recently about the coaching staff changes. “We knew that. I knew that right after the (championship) game. And so you have plans in place. But we’re going to make sure we take our time and find the right guys because it’s Ohio State, so you have the opportunity to get the best.”