The ups and downs Carson Hinzman experienced in his debut season as Ohio State’s starting center hit an extreme dip in December.

During the lead-up to the Cotton Bowl, he lost his starting spot as the anchor of the offensive line and did not make an appearance in a humbling loss to Missouri.

His struggles in practice prompted the Buckeyes to sideline Hinzman in favor of Matt Jones, sliding him over from right guard.

Coaches told him it was best for the team, a judgment Hinzman accepted, as he recalled Monday following a spring practice.

“I don't read anything too much into it," he said. "That was the decision they made. All I could do is get ready and compete for this next year.”

Months later, Hinzman is looking to reclaim his starting role, a feat that not only requires him to bounce back from a tough finish to 2023, but also hold off Seth McLaughlin, the former starting center at Alabama who transferred to Ohio State in January.

Though not as experienced as McLaughlin, he is not an afterthought this offseason, getting reps as the center with the first-team offense in spring practice.

Hinzman feels the position battle with McLaughlin has benefited him so far.

“He’s been a great addition to the team, a great addition to the o-line room,” Hinzman said. “The competition has been going really well, and I’ve gotten so much better because of that.”

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But experience has helped Hinzman the most.

When he looked at clips of himself as a redshirt freshman, Hinzman noticed he was indecisive while trying to pick up blocking assignments. He described himself as jittery at times as he sorted out the chaos at the line of scrimmage.

Those moments of hesitation left him in positions that made it difficult to create leverage as a blocker.

“When you know you’re 100% ready to make this block, you play so much faster,” he said. “This year, I’ve been able to do that and play a lot faster.”

He said he has dedicated more time to watching film with the staff “so I can find myself in better positions of power and make the right blocks when I need to be.”

Justin Frye, the Buckeyes’ offensive line coach, described it as a common predicament for inexperienced linemen.

“If you get thrust into real reps and full speed,” Frye said, “it’s faster than you’ve ever seen.”

When Luke Wypler left early for the NFL last year, it prompted the Buckeyes to rely on Hinzman, who had spent only a year with the program before moving to the top of the depth chart and making 12 starts.

Frye felt the experience deepened Hinzman’s grasp of the demands of playing at the highest level in college.

“He has that he can look back on, the understanding of the game, the speed of the game, the intensity,” Frye said. “I’ve said it a thousand times. He doesn’t get faster or stronger, but the game mentally slows down for him, so he can use his skill set that way.”

Hinzman looks back on last season as a learning experience, especially as he had not played any snaps in 2022.

He was so inexperienced that when he lined up as the starting center in Ohio State’s season-opening win at Indiana last September, he felt himself shaking, filled with nerves.

“You think that I put all this work that I should be there,” Hinzman said, “but then you watch the tape, and it’s like, ‘What am doing?’ It was such a good developmental year for me.

“I was so grateful for the experience, and going into this year, I’m trying to learn off that and what we learn this spring. It’s going to be a really great year.”

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch and can be reached at jkaufman@dispatch.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State center Carson Hinzman looks to reclaim starting spot