Austin Siereveld isn’t done in Columbus just yet.
The towering 6-foot-5, 325-pound left tackle announced he’s returning to Ohio State for the 2026 season, giving the Buckeyes’ offensive line a major boost of experience, leadership, and grit. Siereveld, who will be a fourth-year junior, made the announcement Wednesday night on his Instagram - and for Buckeye fans, it’s a big win before spring ball even begins.
Siereveld started all 14 games at left tackle in 2025 and was voted one of four team captains, a clear sign of the respect he commands inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. His performance on the field backed it up, too - he earned second-team All-Big Ten honors from both the coaches and the media, anchoring an offensive line that helped power Ohio State through another high-level campaign.
But this isn’t Siereveld’s first time making a major impact. The Liberty Township native (Lakota East) first cracked the starting lineup in 2024, slotting in at guard for six games during Ohio State’s national championship run. Even when he wasn’t starting, he was rotating in at both guard spots, showing off the kind of versatility that makes offensive line coaches sleep a little easier at night.
That adaptability has been a theme throughout Siereveld’s career. He’s practiced at both guard and tackle, and in 2025, he became a stabilizing force on a line that dealt with injuries to two starters.
He played in all 16 games for the eventual College Football Playoff national champions, logging 499 offensive snaps and helping the Buckeyes rank among the nation’s best in protecting the quarterback - seventh in fewest tackles for loss allowed per game (3.75) and 10th in fewest sacks allowed per game (1.0). In the CFP alone, Ohio State gave up just four sacks across games against Tennessee, Oregon, Texas, and Notre Dame - all top-7 teams.
That kind of production doesn’t happen without a rock-solid offensive line, and Siereveld was right in the middle of it.
Coming back for another year, he’ll be part of a veteran-laden group that returns plenty of firepower. Luke Montgomery, a rising senior, is back at left guard.
Carson Hinzman, now a fifth-year senior, returns at center. Phillip Daniels, a fourth-year junior, holds down the right tackle spot.
And behind them, there's depth - Joshua Padilla, Ian Moore, and Gabe VanSickle all saw meaningful action late in the 2025 season and are ready to push for bigger roles.
It’s not a stretch to say Siereveld could’ve been a second-day NFL Draft pick had he declared. But instead, he’s running it back with his linemates - a decision that says a lot about the culture Ryan Day and his staff have built, and about Siereveld’s commitment to the program.
A former four-star recruit, Siereveld came to Ohio State as part of the 2023 class, ranked as the No. 16 interior offensive lineman and the No. 302 overall player in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite. He was also the eighth-best prospect in Ohio. He redshirted that first year but got his feet wet in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, setting the stage for what’s become a steady rise through the Buckeye trenches.
Off the field, Siereveld is just as locked in. He’s majoring in sport industry and is a two-time OSU Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-Big Ten honoree. That kind of balance - elite on the field, focused in the classroom - is exactly what programs dream of when they recruit a high-upside lineman.
Now, with another year ahead of him, Siereveld is positioned to be a cornerstone for an Ohio State team with championship aspirations once again. His return doesn’t just solidify the offensive line - it sets the tone for a unit that’s got the experience, talent, and cohesion to be one of the best in the country.
And for a quarterback breaking in behind that line? It’s hard to ask for much more than having No. 74 protecting your blind side.