Why Justin Frye is looking for violence from Ohio State football's offensive line
Justin Frye chose a specific word this week for addressing Ohio State’s inconsistent offensive line.
It was violence.
For as much as the rebuilt group has needed time to jell with multiple new starters, a shift in demeanor is also critical in the view of the Buckeyes’ offensive line coach.
“We’ve got to play more violent,” Frye said. “We can’t be lines on a page. We’re not making a ton of mental mistakes, which is a positive. We’ve got too many point-of-attack mistakes. You can solve that through aggression and violence.”
That mentality might allow the Buckeyes to get more of a push up front, an issue that has hampered them in short-yardage situations in their wins over Indiana and Youngstown State.
In moments in which they have needed only a few yards to move the chains, their running backs have often been stuffed at the line of scrimmage with few holes to be found.
Ohio State’s power success rate, measuring the percentage of runs on third or fourth down in which 2 yards or less are needed to gain a first down or score a touchdown, is one of eight (12.5%).
The limited success in grinding out tough yards has contributed to a third-down conversion rate that ranks 114th in the Football Bowl Subdivision through two weeks.
“We’re on the right people,” Frye said. “We got to block those people better. We got to be on them better.”
Frye sees it as something that remains fixable, largely by simplifying their approach in the trenches.
“You have to put them in situations where there is less thinking,” he said.
That might allow them to be better at coming off the ball and pushing back defenders.
“When all five dudes know what’s going on, it looks like a wall,” Frye said. “Whether that’s here or my son’s who’s playing junior high or middle school football. When those five guys who don’t know much are just rolling off the ball on a run play, you’re protecting the right guys, you’re able to do that and play fast.
“The more you put on their plate or in their backpack, they’re carrying more. They can’t play as fast. That’s our job as coaches.”
A matchup with Western Kentucky on Saturday could be an opportunity for the Buckeyes to reassert themselves at the line of scrimmage.
The Hilltoppers’ defense is opportunistic, having forced five turnovers in wins over South Florida and Houston Christian and coming off a season in which they led the nation in takeaways.
But it has been gashed so far this year, having allowed a combined 534 rushing yards, a total that puts them 131st out of 133 FBS teams in rush defense.
Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said Frye’s emphasis on aggressiveness has echoed his emphasis with the entire roster.
“That’s a reiteration of my message all week,” Day said, “to keep pushing. We’re all going to play fast and violent with high intensity. Everything is getting ratcheted it up. That’s just the way it goes. We’re all pushing to get the most out of our players and to maximize our players. That’s what it comes down to.”
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on Facebook and X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. He can also be contacted at jkaufman@dispatch.com.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State offensive line needs to be more violent, its coach says
