Brian Buckeyes Stats
Writer
In the shadowed coliseum of Ohio Stadium, where echoes of legends like Archie Griffin and Eddie George still reverberate, the 2025 Ohio State Buckeyes stand at the precipice of immortality. Undefeated at 10-0, perched atop the Big Ten with a playoff berth all but etched in scarlet ink, this squad boasts a constellation of stars: quarterback Julian Sayin slinging dimes, wideout Jeremiah Smith hauling in miracles, and a defense that devours souls. Yet, beneath the veneer of dominance lurks a fracture in the foundation—the right guard position, where starter Tegra Tshabola’s struggles have morphed from whispers to roars. As the Buckeyes gear up for a brutal gauntlet—The Game against Michigan, a potential Big Ten title tilt, and the College Football Playoff—it’s time to confront the uncomfortable truth: Tshabola’s tenure as a starter must end. Backup center Joshua Padilla, with his elite PFF grades, or even Gabe VanSickle, who sparked a rushing renaissance in Week 12 against UCLA, represents the upgrade that could propel Ohio State to its tenth national championship.
This isn’t hyperbole; it’s a verdict rendered by data, film, and the unyielding eye test. Tshabola, the redshirt junior behemoth at 6-6, 322 pounds, arrived with a four-star pedigree and boundless potential. But in a season where the Buckeyes’ rushing attack has sputtered to a pedestrian 4.76 yards per carry—ranking a woeful 35th nationally through 10 games, well behind leaders like Navy (6.39), Oregon (6.33) and Utah (6.20), and even trailing Texas Tech (5.00) and Georgia (4.60)—his performance has been the anchor weighing down the ship. Over 10 starts and 458 snaps exclusively at right guard, Tshabola’s overall PFF grade hovers at a lackluster 56.4, with pass blocking at 58.7 and run blocking at 58.7. He’s surrendered 11 pressures (10 hurries, one hit), including disruptive hurries, and committed five penalties that have torpedoed drives. Week after week, breakdowns reveal blown assignments, sluggish pulls, and interior collapses that force running backs to improvise before first contact. Additionally, out of 99 eligible guards in the Big Ten, Tshabola’s grade ranks him as number 81 in the conference.
The numbers don’t lie when stacked against the rest of Ohio State’s right guard rotation—a group that’s seen flashes but lacks a consistent spark. Here’s the full PFF breakdown for every Buckeye who’s logged snaps at RG this season:
Tshabola’s volume is unmatched—over five times the snaps of anyone else—but so is his vulnerability, with those 11 pressures dwarfing the rest of the group’s combined total of just one. Padilla, in particular, stands out as a revelation in limited duty: a pristine 82.0 overall grade on 56 RG snaps, with elite marks in both run (79.8) and pass (75.2) blocking, and zero pressures allowed. Onianwa and VanSickle offer competence (66.5 and 62.9 overall, respectively), but neither matches Padilla’s polish. Freshmen like McFadden and Cook show promise in mop-up roles, yet the data screams for elevation: Why settle for middling when excellence waits in the wings?
The cold, hard numbers from PFF’s latest interior offensive line rankings only sharpen the blade on this debate, painting Tshabola as a middling cog in a machine built for dominance. Nationally, among 324 guards who’ve logged at least 20% of their team’s snaps, Tshabola’s 56.4 overall grade buries him at No. 285—a damning stat where 88% of FBS interior linemen eclipse him, from blue-chip studs to journeymen scrubs. Zoom in on the Big Ten, and the picture sours further: Out of 99 eligible conference guards, he scrapes by at No. 81, his middling marks outpaced by 80 peers. These standings aren’t abstract; they’re a siren call amid a 4.76 rushing yards per attempt that squanders the Buckeyes’ talent, begging the question: In a conference of behemoths, why tolerate bottom-tier mediocrity when Padilla’s 82.0 looms as the antidote?
The nadir? Weeks 8 and 9, where Tshabola’s grades cratered to 46.4 overall, with an abysmal 34.4 in pass protection, yielding two hurries in abbreviated action. Even in brighter spots, like Week 6’s 64.4 mark (bolstered by a 70.7 in run blocking), the inconsistencies persist. As one X post from Buckeyes analyst Brian Walton (@briancwalton78) quipped during the UCLA game: “Tegra is out and we are getting long runs?” The sentiment resonates, capturing a fanbase’s frustration that Ohio State’s ground game, while edging out SEC rivals like Georgia (4.60) and far surpassing middling efforts from Oklahoma (3.82) and Alabama (3.39), still falls short of the explosive potential this talent-laden unit demands.
Enter Week 12 against UCLA—a revelation disguised as a blowout. With Padilla sidelined by injury for a second straight game, VanSickle, the redshirt freshman typically backing up left guard Luke Montgomery, slid over to right guard for most snaps. The result? An explosive eruption: Ohio State averaged 9.8 yards per carry in the first half, with “most of the explosive plays” occurring when Tshabola was benched. Freshman sensation Bo Jackson and sophomore James Peoples turned heads, grading out as the No. 2 and No. 3 Power 4 running backs per PFF, with yards after contact metrics rivaling Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love, whom Walton has compared to Jackson in breakout potential.
But the real eye-opener? Right tackle Phillip Daniels, a redshirt sophomore transfer who’s graded sub-60 for much of the season, suddenly ascended to PFF’s highest-graded offensive lineman nationally at 90.1. Walton nailed it: “Uh oh. Is our right side about to be our strong side? Remember what someone said about what would happen if you put a different RG in, so he wouldn’t have to worry about blown assignments? Now he’s All-Pro all of a sudden?” Daniels, no longer compensating for adjacent miscues, is proof-positive that Tshabola’s woes have created a domino effect, hamstringing the entire right flank.
VanSickle’s own grades were “horrible”, yet the big runs aligned with his insertion, hinting at untapped synergy. But the true heir apparent is Padilla, the redshirt sophomore backup to center Carson Hinzman. In limited action across five games, Padilla’s 82.0 overall grade ranks second on the line—the only other Buckeye in the 80s alongside a select few elites—with 75.2 in pass blocking and 79.8 in run blocking. Zero pressures. Zero penalties. His versatility at center and guard shines: Week 6 (78.0 overall), Weeks 8-9 (70.5), Week 10 (61.6).
Padilla’s dominance isn’t isolated to right guard; it’s a team-wide standout, even in sparse snaps. Consider the full PFF ledger for Ohio State’s offensive linemen this season—where Padilla’s efficiency towers over the starters despite his bench role:
Head coach Ryan Day, now in his seventh year, has preached competition since taking the helm from Urban Meyer. Yet, loyalty to Tshabola—a depth chart staple at RG ahead of Ethan Onianwa and freshman Jayvon McFadden—risks echoing the complacency that doomed past contenders. Ohio State’s roster is too loaded to squander: Sayin under center, Smith and Tate at wideout, a defense led by Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese, Caleb Downs and Company. But against Michigan’s ferocious front seven, interior frailties will be exploited—especially when the Buckeyes’ 4.76 yards per attempt pales against the Midshipmen’s Navy-like ground-and-pound efficiency. Insert Padilla, whose high marks promise seamless protection and gaping lanes, or VanSickle as a bridge if health dictates. The Buckeyes’ rushing revival could mirror the top-tier attacks dominating the national leaderboard, transforming a good team into an unstoppable force.
In the Horseshoe, where banners hang heavy with history, championships are won in the trenches. Tshabola’s chapter, valiant as it was, demands closure—it’s time for a changing of the guard, where fresh blood like Padilla or VanSickle seizes the moment and redefines the right flank. The real season awaits, and the right guard riddle must be solved. For Ohio State, the path to glory runs through reinvention.
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