Josh Simmons set to start at left tackle for Buckeyes in season opener

COLUMBUS — About four months after transferring to Ohio State, former San Diego State offensive lineman Josh Simmons is in line to start at left tackle, a position he said he’s never played before and a position that’s the cornerstone of pass-friendly offensive line.

“I think, as we head into the first game here, you’ll see see Josh at left tackle,” Day said Monday. “And, as of right now, going into this week, he’ll probably be the starter.

Day and offensive line coach Justin Frye — who originally recruited Simmons out of Helix Charter High School in La Mesa, California, when he was at UCLA — aren’t dissuaded by Simmons’ lack of experience at left tackle.

Last week, Frye emphasized that Simmons has the base, bend, balance and burst Frye looks for in offensive linemen.

In fact, according to Frye, Simmons had those attributes coming out of high school with a horde of Power Five offers. He’s only built on his skill set since, especially during the 2022 season when he was SDSU’s everyday right tackle. That was a job that came with close to 800 offensive snaps and starts against Pac-12 foes Arizona and Utah.

Frye raved about Simmons’ maturity. Day had more good things to say about the 6-foot-5, 310-pound redshirt sophomore Monday.

“Ability off the chart, talent off the chart,” Day said. “Just jumps out. Movement, strength. Just needs more and more reps, needs to keep playing but has a chance to be as good as he wants to be.”

Fellow Ohio State offensive tackle Josh Fryar, who is expected to start on the right side of the line after being the Buckeyes’ go-to left tackle in spring, noted last week that Simmons has “freaky athleticism.”

Athleticism, maturity and starting experience are a great recipe for success.

But, at Ohio State, Simmons is in a different role at a different level with different expectations. He’s replacing a first-team All-American in Paris Johnson Jr. who was selected No. 6 overall in this year’s NFL Draft. And he’s playing in the Big Ten, not the Mountain West.

“I walked by [Josh Simmons] the other day, and I said, ‘Is this just like San Diego State?’ and he said, ‘Yes sir.’ And then I walked away, and he says, ‘Coach, this is not like San Diego State,'” Day recalled Monday while drawing laughter from the crowd of media in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

Day continued: “He’s gonna be in a different environment. But he has played, and they play very, very good football there [at San Diego State]. And they play against good teams. So that’s a good sign. And he’s competing every day. Every day, he’s going against J.T. [Tuimoloau] and Jack [Sawyer] and Kenyatta [Jackson]. He’s going at it. So he’s responding well to that, so that’s good.

“Definitely not a finished product at all. But he does know what it feels like. He knows what it’s like to play a season and all that. So that is helpful for sure. But it’s going to be a different challenge for him.”

Day also listed the other offensive line leaders right now: Donovan Jackson at left guard, Carson Hinzman at center, Matthew Jones at right guard and, as mentioned above, Fryar at right tackle.

Day said that Hinzman is “a little bit ahead” of Victor Cutler Jr. right now at center, but that battle is still ongoing. Day also noted that Ohio State true freshman right tackle Luke Montgomery “is going to play football this year,” later confirming that the “Bison” extra tight end role is a possibility for Montgomery.

Day added that Ohio State offensive tackles Tegra Tshabola and Zen Michalski are in the mix, and veteran guard Enokk Vimahi, like Cutler at center, is “knocking on the door” at guard.

“So, in a situation where we felt like we were thin on the O-Line,” Day said, “you turn around after a few months, and we feel like we have some decent depth.”