Ohio State will face off against Tennessee in the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff on Saturday. But if you didn’t know better, you’d assume the season is over and the sky is falling.

One of those things may be true, but let’s discuss why. The problem is clear: Ohio State is having issues recruiting offensive lineman this cycle. A big swing resulted in an Adam Dunn-type whiff on five-star David Sanders (who chose Ohio State’s Saturday opponent, Tennessee) with other misses along the way including Josh Petty (Georgia Tech), Ziyare Addison (Oregon), and Micah DeBose (Alabama). The 2025 class resulted in three signees for the Buckeyes up front: Four-star OT Carter Lowe (Ohio native), three-star IOL Jake Cook (Ohio) and three-star IOL Jayvon McFadden (Maryland). With at least three starting spots to fill on next year’s offensive line, the Buckeyes will have to go portal hunting.

But that hasn’t exactly gone better. The Buckeyes have sent out a plethora of offers, but the only news reported so far has been negative. The Buckeyes were left off the final three for Nevada transfer Isaiah World, who said that Ohio State offensive line coach Justin Frye saw him more as a guard, while he wanted to play tackle. Ohio State also offered Cal Poly transfer Brady Norton, who committed to Michigan less than 12 hours later. Northwestern transfer Josh Thompson reportedly had a less-than-stellar visit and left without committing. He is now expected to land elsewhere. The Buckeyes also recently hosted Rice transfer Ethan Onainwa on a visit over the weekend, but he also left without committing.  In rare good news, it appears the Buckeyes are the frontrunner for Minnesota transfer Phillip Daniels, a Cincinnati native who is step-first-cousins with former Ohio State LT Paris Johnson Jr.

But the big question is… why? Ohio State’s offensive line pedigree exists. The aforementioned Johnson was a first-round NFL Draft choice just two years ago, with center Luke Wypler also being selected in that draft, while the Buckeyes revitalized the careers of transfers Josh Simmons and Seth McLaughlin. Donovan Jackson is expected to be an NFL Draft choice this spring as well. So why can’t the Buckeyes use that to recruit new trenchmen?

Justin Frye has been with Ohio State as the offensive line coach since 2022. He had worked with Ryan Day and Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly at his previous stops and was a familiar hire that made a lot of sense at the time. Frye replaced Greg Studrawa, who was canned for similar recruiting-related issues. Frye is just 41 years old and it was expected that he would be able to relate to recruits in a fashion that Studrawa could not. But that hasn’t happened, with the results being just the same as before.

There is no questioning Frye’s ability to develop. Simmons went from one of the worst FBS starting tackles to a projected first-round pick before an unfortunate lower-body injury. McLaughlin was ran out of Tuscaloosa for snapping issues but came to Columbus and became the stalwart leader of this unit before an Achilles injury of his own. McLaughlin was still named the Rimington Award winner as the nation’s best center.

The patchwork replacements have done quite well, with Donovan Jackson sliding over to tackle, Carson Hinzman moving from the bench to guard to center, and Austin Siereveld being inserted at left guard. This line was very good against Penn State, Purdue, and Indiana, before play-calling doomed them against Michigan. Regardless, nobody should fault Frye for the play of his unit this year. They have been excellent after being dealt two of the worst blows imaginable.

So why can’t he recruit? You would think that prospects would see the growth of the line this year, the NFL Draft choices, and the opportunity for early playing time and jump all over it. But that has not been the case whatsoever. The answers are unclear. Perhaps Ohio State’s NIL war chest has run dry, but that seems unlikely with a large senior class on their way out- freeing up significant resources for their replacements. Ohio State has proven to be willing to spend for proven trench talent. Perhaps nobody wants to play in the cold when given the choice, although Michigan has had no issues finding transfer offensive lineman in the past couple of cycles.

Frye’s contract is up after this season, and as it stands now it would be extremely difficult for Ohio State to bring him back. Has the play on the field warranted his return? Probably. But what has happened off of the field has been far from ideal and could make the future of Buckeye football a lot more challenging.