Ohio State may be getting close to a decision that most teams would love to have.
As Phillip Daniels works his way back from the injury that knocked him out in the second half of the Buckeyes’ Week 2 loss at Texas, Ryan Day is weighing whether the right tackle job should go back to the starter or stay with the player who has helped stabilize the line in his absence.
Day didn’t give an update Tuesday on Daniels, but the coach made clear that the coming days will help determine what happens if Daniels is ready for Saturday’s game at No. 14 Iowa.
“We’ll see how Phillip does this week, see how he looks and then make the decision on what we’re going to do from there,” Day said. “I will say that Phil did some good things before his injury.
But I also think Gabe has really been a bright spot for us in a lot of areas. It’s not been perfect but he’s getting better with every rep.”
That’s the crux of the situation: Ohio State has found something that works.
With Daniels sidelined, Austin Siereveld has shifted to right tackle and Gabe VanSickle has stepped in at right guard. In wins over Kent State and Illinois, the Buckeyes’ offensive line has given up only nine pressures and no sacks. For a unit trying to hold its shape through a midseason shuffle, that’s real production.
VanSickle’s case has only grown stronger with each snap. He entered the lineup after Daniels went down at Texas, then played the final seven offensive snaps in that game without allowing a pressure. Since then, he has logged 116 snaps, with no pressures allowed against Kent State and four against Illinois.
That’s why this isn’t just about Daniels getting healthy. It’s about whether Ohio State wants to disrupt a line that has settled in.
Ohio State opened the year with Ian Moore, Luke Montgomery, Carson Hinzman, Siereveld and Daniels from left to right. Even before Daniels was injured, though, VanSickle had already seen the field with the starters, playing two drives in the season-opening win over Ball State.
Asked after that game about the move, Day pointed to the value of having options.
“That is the flexibility that we have,” Day said. “The competition continues.”
That competition never really stopped. Daniels had been having a strong outing at Texas, allowing one pressure on 58 snaps before the injury cut his night short. But VanSickle has done enough in the meantime to keep the conversation alive.
“I don’t think right now he’s done anything to say he doesn’t deserve to play,” Day said.
So even if Daniels is ready to go by Saturday, Ohio State may be facing a good problem: a line that has already shown it can function without him, and a decision that will come down to how Daniels looks in practice this week.
“It’s their job to make sure that they’re pushing everything they can to do their part in practice, to build the trust,” Day said, “and then as coaches, we just have to make a final decision on how we want to play this game based on how Phil does this week.”
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