The young Buckeye offensive line is using this offseason to improve while trying to find a starting spot.
247sports.com
Luke Montgomery continues to improve, looking for Ohio State's starting guard spot: 'That would mean a lot'
The young Buckeye offensive line is using this offseason to improve while trying to find a starting spot.
While Montgomery played in all but four games for the Buckeyes as a freshman, he was on the field for just 44 offensive snaps. Yet he believes these were 44 important snaps at the start of his college career.
"I think it prepared me well," Montgomery said this spring. "I was really blessed with the opportunity to be able to step into that position and see the field and just see the limelight, honestly. Not just the field but going to the away games, going into those atmospheres and I think that helps me out. It puts me in a good position for this year to just be able to contend for that job."
Contending for the job is a bit different this offseason. While Montgomery was pegged as a tackle a year ago, both Simmons and Fryar returned for 2024, and each has taken steps to ensure they remain in their respective spots.
Although Montgomery can still contend at tackle and may play that position down the line, he spent much of spring practice working at right guard, the only position on the Scarlet and Gray's offensive line that doesn't have a returning starter.
Montgomery's versatility makes him an option at any of the offensive line spots, but he believes his best fit is at guard.
"I think my weight, my height is more of a guard height," Montgomery said. "I'm fast on my feet, and I just need to get used to the technique right now. I'm still sometimes like basketball. I want to be on that, just like defend but you got to stay square and stuff a lot."
Coming out of his first collegiate season, Montgomery says he put on 12-14 pounds and now weighs roughly 309. Offensive line coach Justin Frye would like to see Montgomery add five to 10 more pounds to get to the ideal guard playing weight but knows that will come in time.
What Frye likes is Montgomery's willingness to move positions this offseason and continue to learn.
"You can't make moves or shift guys if they're not mentally there," the coach said. "And so for him, he's got a pretty good football IQ. So he's continued. He's growing every day. He's working, and he's getting beat every day, too. And he's learning from those."
It was not an easy spring for Montgomery. Moving to an interior offensive line spot means going against defensive tackles Tyleik Williams, Ty Hamilton and Hero Kanu, to name a few, all players who are in their third or fourth years of college football.
While that often meant coming out second best in practice, Montgomery also took plenty away from these battles.
"You're just trying to get better, and you're gonna lose those reps," Montgomery said. "That's what I struggled with when I first got here. From where I came from, I was the best, and you don't know it 'til you know it when you're here. You're playing against guys that are older than you and way more experienced and are a lot better than you and you're gonna get beat. You just gotta keep getting back up and fighting."
And although they had success against him at times in practice, Ohio State defensive tackles saw the Montgomery improve during the spring.
"I go against him every day," Kanu said of Montgomery. "This man is strong. I'm talking about like, he's got the basketball feet. It's not like you can just do an inside move. He recovers really fast. Just the overall shape. And he's got the grit in him. He doesn't give up on a play. Like he said, he's gonna go in and watch the film. He's doing that every day to get better, and you can see that on the field. From practice one to now practice nine, you can see the improvement every day."
