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C Seth McLaughlin (All B1G, All-American, 2024 Rimington Award)

Like this move a lot with our depth concerns on O-line.

Curious to see if he comes in to play center or guard. His PFF numbers were not great in 2023 but were very solid when Bryce Young was at QB. Obviously love the experience he brings with him…
He’s never played guard, I doubt he’ll start now

 
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I’m not sure what happens with Hinzman but people should remember he’s only a RS Sophmore next year so he still has a lot of
time with program should he want it.

I firmly believe the staff was caught way off-guard when Luke Wypler decided to leave after Junior season. We had a fantastic run at center, where RS Juniors were developed to take over in their 3rd or 4th years.

Going back a bit, Corey Linsley started at Center in only his senior season after playing the year prior mostly at Guard. After his senior year, he turned job over to Billy Price who also started at Guard and moved to center for his senior year. Billy Price then turned job over to Michael Jordan for his senior year. Jordan turned Center job over to Josh Myers who was first guy good enough as a RS Sophmore to take the reins. Myers then left job for Junior Luke Wypler.

All that to say, I don’t think Hinzman was physically ready for the job as a RS Freshman last year. He talked about how much he hates eating 6,000 calories a day to get to the weight he needs to be at and I don’t think he’s grown into his body quite yet. They brought in Cutler as a transfer, but the step up was too big of a jump…..so they were in a Catch 22 at position.

Personally, I hope Hinzman sticks around. I think he can be a very good center, but he should view this as a good thing…..focus on getting stronger and develop behind a guy who has a shitload of experience. Maybe compete for a starting Guard position….
 
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Fwiw ex players on twitter were saying he just has a technique issue that has too much movement in it. Hard to see how that couldn't get coached out of him, but also hard to believe it wasn't coached out of him all last year.
They'd be right.

Saban also thinks it was somewhat of a communication/trust issue too and has said so. one could exacerbate the other.
 
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I think this acquisition raises the floor of the OL room, and that’s a main positive. Bring in talented OL to compete, and get the best 5 out there. No more 4 OT gimmicks, or guys playing out of position. Welcome to the fam Seth, but I don’t expect him to just come in and start, I expect him to come in and fight for a starting position
 
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Hinsman moves to guard or Hinsman moves on to a different school?

Just sayin': If Hinzman gets out of the proverbial "coaches' dog house" he could still start at guard or center. A combination of McLaughlin, Jones and Hinzman could be the three IOL in 2024. You do have to wonder why McLaughlin's PFF grade dropped from 74.4 to 59.4 in 2023 though. Regardless, I'm glad to see Ohio State addressing their OL problem, etc.


That said, McLaughlin brings valuable experience to Ohio State’s interior offensive line, where the Buckeyes could be looking for multiple new starters. While left guard Donovan Jackson remains a candidate to return for his senior season, right guard Matt Jones has exhausted his eligibility and center Carson Hinzman was benched for the Cotton Bowl.

McLaughlin made all of his starts at Alabama as a center but could theoretically also contribute at guard if he is not the starting center. It’s expected that he will compete with Hinzman and Joshua Padilla for Ohio State’s starting center job this offseason, when he’ll need to prove he can be consistently relied upon as a snapper.

As a blocker, McLaughlin graded out well for most of his Alabama career. He received overall grades of 73.2 in 2021 and 74.3 in 2022 from Pro Football Focus, though his overall grade dipped to 59.4 in 2023.
 
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It’s worth noting that the center normally makes the protection calls, and if he doesn’t get things in sync before the snap, breakdowns can be rampant. I think that made things worse during the Cotton Bowl.

I hope he wins the starting job, and uses his experience to get things organized along the O-line. And obviously that the snapping issues get corrected.

And Day should be picking his brain for any tips on how Saban uses his different coaches and numerous assistants for game prep, etc. How is self-scouting dealt with, how are players issued game copies for review, etc.
 
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