Tegra Tshabola named starting right guard for Buckeyes opener
COLUMBUS — Ohio State has finally settled its last standing position battle on the offensive side of the ball: Tegra Tshabola will start at right guard when the Buckeyes open the season this weekend against Akron.
Ohio State coach Ryan Day made that official on Tuesday, just a few days ahead of the opener.
Tshabola, a third-year lineman from Lakota West (West Chester, Ohio), will make his first career start against Akron. He was a four-star recruit in the 2022 recruiting rankings, checking in at No. 99 nationally. He was the No. 9 interior lineman and No. 5 player in Ohio for his class.
Now he’s a starting offensive lineman at Ohio State, beating out second-year lineman Luke Montgomery and third-year lineman Carson Hinzman for the job — to open the season, at least. Hinzman was among the favorites for that spot because he started at center last year, but Tshabola did enough this offseason to overcome the lack of experience and earn a start.
With Hinzman sidelined for multiple practices early this month in training camp, Tshabola earned plenty of first-team reps between starting center Seth McLaughlin and starting right tackle Josh Fryar.
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During training camp, Ohio State coach Ryan Day praised Tshabola’s progress.
“Tegra’s stood out as being able to play as a starting-level player and the quality that he’s playing at right now,” Day said. “Now there’s still things he needs to improve, and Seth [McLaughlin] the same way [at center]. So we gotta get Carson out there. We got to get him back with his feet underneath him. I’ll have to look at the film today. But also [the scrimmage] Saturday will be a big evaluation for those guys.”
It was a key evaluation, and Tshabola reportedly made the most of that scrimmage and other chances in camp. Now he’s officially in the starting lineup, and the Buckeyes have a complete starting five along the offensive line for the opener.
