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Through 12 games of the 2025 season, Ohio State’s offensive line was the best in the country. Then losses in the Big Ten Championship Game to Indiana, followed by a 24-14 defeat at the hands of Miami ended the Buckeyes’ season in a College Football
Playoff quarterfinal at the Cotton Bowl.
In both of those losses the offensive line looked like they were on roller skates, as they weren’t able to adequately protect quarterback Julian Sayin.
The good news for Ohio State is most of the offensive line from last year’s team returns in 2026. The group definitely has a sour taste in their mouth and a lot to prove after how the 2025 season ended.
One of the lineman who is back this year is Phillip Daniels, who started every game but the Purdue game for the Buckeyes last season. In his first full season as starter, Daniels earned Third Team All-Big Ten honors.
Despite playing his high school football at Princeton in Cincinnati, Daniels wasn’t really on Ohio State’s radar. Daniels was named First Team All-State and committed to Minnesota as a three-star prospect.
After not playing in 2023 for the Golden Gophers, Daniels would appear in 12 games, starting three of those contests in 2024, with his first start coming in early November against Illinois.
Following the 2024 season, Daniels decided to enter the transfer portal, and this time the Buckeyes made a serious push to bring him in. It didn’t take Daniels long to make some noise once on campus, eventually earning a starting spot on the line coming out of preseason camp.
In his third season of college football, Daniels would go on to appear in 761 snaps for Ohio State last season.
The highlight game last year for Daniels came in the season opener against Texas. During the offseason, Longhorns defensive end Colin Simmons took a shot at Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin after the sophomore was named the starter for the Buckeyes.
Daniels kept his cool throughout the game, drawing a penalty against Simmons when the Longhorn knocked Daniels’ helmet off in the first half. The penalty kept Ohio State’s drive alive and would eventually lead to the first touchdown of the game for the Buckeyes.
After the game, Daniels said Simmons, “Talked better than he played.”
Despite having the ability to enter the 2026 NFL Draft, Daniels decided to return to Ohio State for another season. Spring camp was cut short for not only Daniels, but also for fellow lineman Austin Siereveld, when they both missed the last couple weeks of camp because of minor procedures due to injuries.
Luckily both were able to recover quickly and have been full participants so far in preseason camp.
Now the only question that remains is where Daniels fits into the starting lineup. Siereveld, center Carson Hinzman, and guard Luke Montgomery are locks to start, with Siereveld’s ability to play either guard or tackle giving the Buckeyes flexibility. Daniels, Ian Moore, and Joshua Padilla are all fighting for the final two starting sports.
Early indications are that Daniels will start at right tackle and Ian Moore sliding into the left tackle spot with Siereveld lining up at right guard, leaving Padilla to step in when needed. The move makes sense after Daniels started all but one game last season, playing really well in his first season in Columbus.
The competition wasn’t because the play of Daniels has fallen off, it’s more Ohio State has put together a talented line with a lot of depth and they are just making sure they are putting their five best offensive linemen on the field.
Once the college career of Daniels concludes, expect him to go on to play in the NFL. Not only does Daniels have excellent size at 6-foot-5 and 312 pounds, which he uses to overpower defenders, the Texas game showed he has the ability to get under the skin of his opponents.
One thing is for sure: Daniels will certainly get a chance to improve his draft stock since all eyes will again be on Ohio State this year since the Buckeyes have one of the top offenses in the country, and are expected to make a deep run in the College Football Playoff.
