Tegra Tshabola was officially named the starter at right guard for the opening game against Akron, head coach Ryan Day announced when he met with the media on Tuesday.
It seemed for a while that Tshabola had been trending to earn the start on Aug. 31, but Day did say that he likely won’t be the only person to get a chance to play at the position against the Zips.
“We’ll keep looking at it this week. We’ll probably roll a bunch, but it looks like going in that Terga will start at right guard for us,” Day said. “He’s had a good preseason. He’s done a nice job. We’ll continue to assess it all the way up until the game time, but he’s earned the right to start in this game.”
The offensive line was the biggest criticism the Buckeyes faced last season, especially in the Cotton Bowl against Missouri when it had its worst game of the season with some players making position changes for that game.
Now going into 2024, Day seems much more confident in the depth that his team has with the addition of center Seth McLaughlin and another year of experience for each of them. The offensive line had a virus that went around the room which forced some guys down the depth chart to step up and prove themselves.
“Early on the little illness that was going around the offensive line was frustrating,” Day said. “But coming out of preseason camp, we felt like we built some depth because we had to and some guys got forced into duty maybe a little quicker than they had to. When you’re working with the ones, you have to tighten up. Because of that we have built more depth than we expected coming out of the preseason.”
Tshabola was one of those players, but even with receiving the news that he would be on the field to begin Week 1, Day likes the way the redshirt sophomore is approaching his preparation.
“He’s just going day to day right now and working,” Day said. “That’s what has been good about the offensive line is that guys have been working at it every day. But he’s been working. It’s not like he’s knocking at anybody’s door and saying, ‘What is my situation this week?’ He knows that if he continues to play the way he is that he’s going to be a starter for us… He’s been one of the guys that we’ve been able to count on in this camp.”
