Thayer Munford had one of the more interesting and thorough careers of any Ohio State Buckeye in school history. Seen by some as a bit of a gamble when he was offered by Ohio State, Munford never stopped betting on himself and he never stopped collecting his winnings.
Munford was a rare true sophomore starter at left tackle for the Buckeyes in 2018, earning Honorable Mention All-Big Ten notice for his efforts. As a junior in 2019, he bumped that up to Second-Team All-Big Ten, and then in 2020 he was First-Team All-Big Ten as a senior.
Munford had another surprise in store and decided to return for his “super senior” season in 2021, which would have made him a rare four-year starter at left tackle for Ohio State. His final surprise, however, came when he volunteered to move to left guard so that the Buckeyes could get their five best offensive linemen on the field together. He again earned First-Team All-Big Ten accolades.
In replacing Thayer Munford, the Buckeyes must replace an experienced leader, a four-year starter, and somebody more selfless than most.
The Candidates
While this series is about replacing departed starters, the Buckeyes will actually be replacing both starting guards from 2021 because Paris Johnson will be moving from right guard to left tackle in 2022. Because of the depth in the room over the past two seasons, they have talented players with starting experience waiting in the wings should they get the call.
The first name among the starting replacement candidates for both Thayer Munford and Paris Johnson is Matthew Jones, who will be a fifth-year senior in 2022. Jones was essentially the sixth starter on the offensive line this past year. He played the sixth-most snaps on the offensive line and had some spot starts, including the Rose Bowl. Jones was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten this past season.
The Buckeyes also have former starting left guard Harry Miller on hand. Miller missed most of the 2021 season with an injury, but if he comes back healthy, then he’ll provide exactly the kind of experience that an offensive line needs. Following the 2020 season, the Big Ten’s coaches voted him Third-Team All-Conference
The Buckeye offensive lineman with the seventh-most snaps last year was true freshman Donovan Jackson, a former 5-star guard out of Texas. Jackson played a bunch of snaps as an extra tight end in 2021, which should give you an idea of the kind of athleticism he possesses. In fact, he could probably even play tackle if the need were to arise, which it eventually might.
Guys like Josh Fryar and Enokk Vimahi could also be involved. Both have spent time at tackle as well. Even starting center Luke Wypler may be a possibility at guard if new offensive line coach Justin Frye determines center can be better handled by Harry Miller or Matt Jones.
Spring Outlook
Justin Frye will need to determine who his backup tackles are and probably keep them outside instead of trying them at guard so that they can get all the work they need at the positions they’ll be playing in the fall. That may mean Josh Fryar and Enokk Vimahi won’t get into the mix at guard.
And really, even with just the combination of Matt Jones, Harry Miller, and Donovan Jackson, two starters should be found. If Miller is healthy enough by the start of spring, that will go a long way towards him staking his claim. If he isn’t, then he’ll have some work to do in the fall, but he’s never really let that bother him before.
Even though Matt Jones has been around forever, he will still likely get a bunch of work in the spring as the coaching staff still wants more consistency out of him. This is also going to be Justin Frye’s first opportunity to see everybody practicing first hand, so the more information he can gather, the better for the Buckeyes.
Don’t be surprised when Donovan Jackson emerges as one of the shining stars of spring ball. He possesses immense potential and the experience he gained in 2021 won’t be going to waste.
The Best Bet
The very best bet here is that Matt Jones is starting for the Buckeyes in 2022. Whether that means he’s replacing Thayer Munford at left guard or Paris Johnson at right guard will be determined at a later date. Following that, Donovan Jackson and Harry Miller will likely have a very interesting battle in fall camp to start at the other guard spot.
Despite the loss of Munford, he should be replaced in fine form. Replacing Johnson in addition to Munford, however, creates some questions. The Buckeyes seemingly have answers to those questions, but the blue books still need to be written.
Thayer Munford had one of the more interesting and thorough careers of any Ohio State Buckeye in school history. Seen by some as a bit of a gamble when he was offered by Ohio State, Munford never stopped betting on himself and he never stopped collecting his winnings.
Munford was a rare true sophomore starter at left tackle for the Buckeyes in 2018, earning Honorable Mention All-Big Ten notice for his efforts. As a junior in 2019, he bumped that up to Second-Team All-Big Ten, and then in 2020 he was First-Team All-Big Ten as a senior.
Munford had another surprise in store and decided to return for his “super senior” season in 2021, which would have made him a rare four-year starter at left tackle for Ohio State. His final surprise, however, came when he volunteered to move to left guard so that the Buckeyes could get their five best offensive linemen on the field together. He again earned First-Team All-Big Ten accolades.
In replacing Thayer Munford, the Buckeyes must replace an experienced leader, a four-year starter, and somebody more selfless than most.
[B]The Candidates[/B]
While this series is about replacing departed starters, the Buckeyes will actually be replacing both starting guards from 2021 because Paris Johnson will be moving from right guard to left tackle in 2022. Because of the depth in the room over the past two seasons, they have talented players with starting experience waiting in the wings should they get the call.
The first name among the starting replacement candidates for both Thayer Munford and Paris Johnson is [B]Matthew Jones[/B], who will be a fifth-year senior in 2022. Jones was essentially the sixth starter on the offensive line this past year. He played the sixth-most snaps on the offensive line and had some spot starts, including the Rose Bowl. Jones was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten this past season.
The Buckeyes also have former starting left guard [B]Harry Miller [/B]on hand. Miller missed most of the 2021 season with an injury, but if he comes back healthy, then he’ll provide exactly the kind of experience that an offensive line needs. Following the 2020 season, the Big Ten’s coaches voted him Third-Team All-Conference
The Buckeye offensive lineman with the seventh-most snaps last year was true freshman [B]Donovan Jackson[/B], a former 5-star guard out of Texas. Jackson played a bunch of snaps as an extra tight end in 2021, which should give you an idea of the kind of athleticism he possesses. In fact, he could probably even play tackle if the need were to arise, which it eventually might.
Guys like [B]Josh Fryar[/B] and [B]Enokk Vimahi[/B] could also be involved. Both have spent time at tackle as well. Even starting center [B]Luke Wypler[/B] may be a possibility at guard if new offensive line coach Justin Frye determines center can be better handled by Harry Miller or Matt Jones.
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[B]Spring Outlook[/B]
Justin Frye will need to determine who his backup tackles are and probably keep them outside instead of trying them at guard so that they can get all the work they need at the positions they’ll be playing in the fall. That may mean Josh Fryar and Enokk Vimahi won’t get into the mix at guard.
And really, even with just the combination of Matt Jones, Harry Miller, and Donovan Jackson, two starters should be found. If Miller is healthy enough by the start of spring, that will go a long way towards him staking his claim. If he isn’t, then he’ll have some work to do in the fall, but he’s never really let that bother him before.
Even though Matt Jones has been around forever, he will still likely get a bunch of work in the spring as the coaching staff still wants more consistency out of him. This is also going to be Justin Frye’s first opportunity to see everybody practicing first hand, so the more information he can gather, the better for the Buckeyes.
Don’t be surprised when Donovan Jackson emerges as one of the shining stars of spring ball. He possesses immense potential and the experience he gained in 2021 won’t be going to waste.
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[B]The Best Bet[/B]
The very best bet here is that Matt Jones is starting for the Buckeyes in 2022. Whether that means he’s replacing Thayer Munford at left guard or Paris Johnson at right guard will be determined at a later date. Following that, Donovan Jackson and Harry Miller will likely have a very interesting battle in fall camp to start at the other guard spot.
Despite the loss of Munford, he should be replaced in fine form. Replacing Johnson in addition to Munford, however, creates some questions. The Buckeyes seemingly have answers to those questions, but the blue books still need to be written.
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