Ohio State offensive line coach Justin Frye received the lowest rating among returning assistant coaches in the team’s recently released summer performance review obtained by Eleven Warriors, earning a rating of “performance meets expectations.”
Frye was the only of the returning assistant coaches to receive that rating, with each of the other Buckeye coaches, along with head coach Ryan Day, general manager Mark Pantoni and head strength coach Mickey Marotti receiving a rating of “performance exceeds expectations.”
In the review, Day’s 2024 goals for Frye, who was the only assistant coach not to receive a new contract this offseason, are to build a “championship level” offensive line that is “physical, tough and dependable,” recruit and sign the “best OL class in the nation” and “enhance run game gameplan and creativity.”
As for Frye himself, he wrote in his year-end self-review that he needs to “continually adapt and adjust to the new recruiting ways of college football” while also “building this room and team back to championship level this season.”
These goals come after a difficult 2023 season for Frye in which his new-look offensive line struggled to consistently produce and form a cohesive unit, an issue that came further to light in the last two games of the season when the group gave up a late-game pass rush to Michigan that led to Kyle McCord’s game-sealing interception, then allowed four sacks, 10 tackles for loss, eight quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles against Missouri in the Cotton Bowl.
Frye’s struggles continued into the offseason in the recruiting sphere, where he failed to land Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day School five-star offensive tackle David Sanders (6-6, 290), who committed to Tenneseee over the Buckeyes on Aug. 17. Frye has yet to secure a five-star offensive line recruit in his first three seasons with the program.
As for the rest of Day’s staff, new assistants offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Chip Kelly, running backs coach Carlos Locklyn, linebackers coach James Laurinaitis and safeties coach Matt Guerrieri all received “meets expectations,” although the review was completed in June before fall camp even began.
Former Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith wrote Day’s performance review in May, just before his retirement at the end of June. He gave Day a rating of “exceeds expectations,” saying the seventh-year head coach “exceeds expectations in many areas,” including personnel management, growth as a leader and presence in the community.
Day said in his self-review that he needs to work on “delegating responsibilities better, especially on offense,” while also “holding assistant coaches accountable for production and performance of units at high level.” He also said that he wants to “become an expert in end of game management with two-minute warning rule change,” “research and study best practices for upcoming playoff postseason with potential 16+ games and be “constantly in search of best NL practices at other universities and teams.”
Day listed beating “TUN,” meaning Michigan, at the top of his list of performance goals, a sentiment that was also shared by Frye, Guerrieri, Locklyn, Marotti, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and defensive line coach/associate head coach Larry Johnson.
Day’s three performance goals were “Beat TUN, win the Big Ten Championship, make the College Football Playoff” and “win the national championship,” in that order.
