Every Ohio State season seems to produce a handful of players the entire country is watching before the first snap even takes place. In 2026, that list starts with Jeremiah Smith, Julian Sayin, Bo Jackson, Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and gets crowded fast.
Buried in that conversation, though, is a fourth-year left guard from Ohio who might be playing the position better than almost anyone else in the country, and still isn’t getting talked about nearly enough. Luke Montgomery isn’t chasing a Heisman moment
or a signature highlight reel.
He’s just quietly become one of the most reliable, technically sound offensive linemen in college football, and after four years of steady, patient development, 2026 is shaping up as the year that finally gets him the credit he deserves.
The long road from two-way prospect to Buckeye anchor
Montgomery’s path to Columbus wasn’t a straight line, and that’s part of what makes his development so interesting. Coming out of Findlay High School, he wasn’t purely an offensive lineman. He spent his prep career bouncing between tight end, defensive line and tackle.
Ohio State stayed the course on Montgomery, offering him as an offensive tackle before he’d played a single game at the position full-time, and it paid off.
Montgomery ultimately committed to the Buckeyes over a finalist group that included Michigan, Notre Dame, Clemson and Alabama, closing his recruitment as the No. 49 overall player and the No. 4 offensive tackle nationally in the 247Sports Composite for the 2023 class, and the top-ranked player in the state of Ohio that cycle.
His path to the field wasn’t instant either, which is exactly why “underappreciated” fits him so well. As a true freshman in 2023, Montgomery appeared in just seven games in a depth role.
The real turning point came during Ohio State’s national championship run in 2024, when the coaching staff began trusting him in a rotational role at guard during the Buckeyes’ playoff push. He played 180 snaps and made his first two career starts as Ohio State beat Tennessee, Texas, Oregon and Notre Dame to hoist the trophy.
That late-season surge as a redshirt freshman set the stage for 2025, when Montgomery finally took over as a full-time starter at left guard and never left the lineup, playing all 14 games and 870 total snaps.
The reward was well earned, second-team All-Big Ten from both the coaches and media, and second-team All-American recognition from the American Football Coaches Association.
The numbers behind the reputation
Here’s where the “underrated” case really gets its teeth. During the 2025 regular season, Montgomery didn’t allow a single sack. Across 366 pass-blocking snaps, he surrendered just 10 total pressures, an outstanding number for a Power Four interior lineman playing nearly every meaningful snap.
In the run game, his Pro Football Focus grade on zone runs was even more eye opening. An 85.2 mark that ranked seventh-best among all offensive lineman in the Power Four, regardless of position. That number isn’t just good, it’s the kind of grade usually reserved for players getting first or second team All-American buzz, not second-team All-Big Ten.
Those blocks were also directly responsible for a lot of what made Ohio State’s run game go. Bo Jackson averaged north of seven yards per carry running behind Montgomery on his way to 1,090 rushing yards as a true freshman, a connection that will carry even more weight in Arthur Smith’s more run-centric offense in 2026.
Montgomery’s game is built on the kind of traits that show up on tape more than in highlight compilations. At 6-foot-5 and 312 pounds, he has the frame of a mauler but the footwork of someone who spent years training as an athletic, two-way high school prospect rather than a pure road-grader.
He can pull from the backside, climb cleanly to the second level on zone concepts, and still anchor down against Big Ten nose tackles in pass protection. A rare combination of power and mobility that’s exactly what modern spread systems are built around.
It’s also why he wasn’t just a random name on Ohio State’s Outland Trophy watch list this preseason, alongside teammates Carson Hinzman and Austin Siereveld. On August 10, just days before fall camp ramped into full gear, Montgomery was also tabbed an On3 Preseason All-American, joining Jeremiah Smith and Siereveld as the only Buckeyes to earn that distinction.
Why the recognition still feels behind the talent
The frustrating part, if you’re a Montgomery believer, is that even with all of that, he’s still being talked about as a name to watch rather than a lock. Part of that hesitation traces back to how Ohio State’s season actually ended.
Those two performances are the reason Montgomery isn’t a unanimous first-team preseason All-American already, even with an elite statistical season otherwise in the books.
That’s exactly the chip Montgomery is playing with. Rather than testing the 2026 NFL Draft, where his tape and measurables likely would have made him a draftable name, Montgomery chose to return to Columbus for a senior season, along with the rest of Ohio State’s veteran offensive line, specifically because of how last year ended.
He knows that adversity is part of what shapes a player, and he’s carried that mindset into how he’s talked about this fall. He’s spoken openly about wanting more than personal accolades this season. His stated goal is for Ohio State’s offensive line to be recognized as the best unit in the country and to bring home the Joe Moore Award, given annually to the nation’s top offensive line.
If Montgomery delivers on that in 2026, cleaning up the late-season lapses while building on an 85.2 zone run-blocking grade and a near immaculate pass-protection resume.
The individual hardware, first-team All-Big Ten, All-American honors, maybe even an Outland Trophy conversation, should finally catch up to a game that’s quietly been All-American caliber for over a year now. The tools, the tape and the track record are all already there.
All that’s left is for the rest of the country to notice.
