Ohio State entered preseason camp with legitimate questions at left tackle. Austin Siereveld had just finished an impressive season at the position, while Ian Moore represented the higher upside option who could allow Siereveld to move back inside to guard.
Three weeks before the season opener, that question appears to have largely answered itself.
The Buckeyes have not formally announced their starting offensive line, and Ryan Day has repeatedly emphasized that the staff still wants to find its “best
five.” But the evidence coming out of camp increasingly points toward a specific configuration: Ian Moore at left tackle, Luke Montgomery at left guard, Carson Hinzman at center, Austin Siereveld at right guard and Phillip Daniels at right tackle.
Perhaps most importantly, that is not simply a projection based on what Ohio State could do. It is what the Buckeyes have consistently already been doing. That same combination appeared again on the third day of camp, with the only deviation coming in between, when Siereveld briefly slid back to left tackle and Joshua Padilla took over at right guard.
Then came the clearest indication yet. A few days ago Ryan Day acknowledged that Siereveld has been working at guard, with Moore and Daniels on the outside and the trio of Siereveld, Hinzman and Montgomery working together inside.
Day described the lineup as “trending in that direction.” That is about as close as a coach, especially Ryan Day, can get to announcing a starting five without actually announcing it.
Ian Moore has done enough to force the decision
The most important part of this development is not that Ohio State wants Siereveld at guard. It is that Moore appears to have done enough to make moving Siereveld inside a realistic option.
Moore arrived at Ohio State as a highly regarded four-star recruit out of Indiana and was viewed as one of the better offensive tackles in the 2024 recruiting class. The physical profile with him has always been obvious. Ohio State lists the redshirt junior at 6-foot-6 and 315 pounds, giving him the length and frame of a traditional left tackle, but the physical tools were never the question.
The question was whether Moore could turn them into reliable Big Ten offensive line play. That process has been gradual.
Moore appeared in four games as a redshirt freshman in 2024 before taking a much larger step forward last season. He played in all 14 games in 2025, totaling 230 snaps and earning his first career start against Purdue, where he played a season-high 72 snaps.
More importantly, those snaps came at both tackle spots. Moore played 79 snaps at left tackle and 71 at right tackle in 2025, giving him meaningful experience on both sides of the line. That experience became particularly valuable late in the season, when Ohio State needed him against Miami in the College Football Playoff.
By then, he was no longer simply a young player being thrown into a difficult situation. He had spent the season preparing for that moment, and his performance gave the staff another reason to believe he was ready for a larger role in 2026.
Now, after another offseason of development, Day believes Moore is beginning to look like the player Ohio State expected when they recruited him. “He’s always been athletic,” Day said, while also pointing to Moore’s strength, intelligence and mentality.
The bigger point was experience, Day noted that offensive linemen often begin to “grow into their own” around their third year, which is where Moore is at now.
That is an important distinction. Ohio State is not handing the left tackle position to an untested freshman simply because he has an impressive recruiting profile.
Moore has spent many years in the program, played in 18 games, started a game, played both tackle positions and gone through an entire season of preparation against one of the country’s best defenses. He is still relatively inexperienced compared to Siereveld, but he is no longer inexperienced.
Siereveld moving inside could make the entire line better
The other half of this story is Siereveld. If Moore had not emerged, there would be little reason for Ohio State to move Siereveld. He started all 14 games at left tackle last season and earned second-team All-Big Ten honors from both the coaches and media.
He also entered the year having already accumulated extensive experience at guard during Ohio State’s 2024 national championship season. His career snap share really illustrates just how much his role has changed. Siereveld played 495 offensive snaps at guard, both left and right, in 2024 before moving almost exclusively to left tackle in 2025, where he logged 809 snaps.
That makes his current move particularly significant. This is not a player being moved inside because he failed at tackle. Quite the opposite, Siereveld proved that he could play left tackle at a high level.
Ohio State may now believe they have found someone capable of doing the same thing at tackle, while also allowing Siereveld to return to the position where his physical skill set may be maximized.
At guard, Siereveld’s power and physicality become even more valuable. He can play with less space, use his strength to generate movement and take advantage of his ability to win leverage battles. He also already understands the interior of Ohio State’s offensive system after spending his first two seasons primarily at guard.
And there is another benefit, continuity. Rather than moving three or four players around to accommodate one position, Ohio State can potentially settle into a clean five-man combination, with clear backups like Josh Padilla at each spot as well.
Moore gets the opportunity to develop into the long term answer at left tackle. Siereveld returns inside. Montgomery remains at left guard. Hinzman stays at center. Daniels remains at right tackle. That is not just a lineup that looks good on paper, it is a lineup where every player has a clear role.
The battle may be over, but the depth is what makes this important
There is still a reason Day is refusing to officially declare anything. Joshua Padilla remains a legitimate option.
Padilla has played 23 games at Ohio State and has experience at guard and center, including 98 offensive snaps at right guard in 2025. Gabe VanSickle provides additional interior depth, while Carter Lowe and other young tackles give Ohio State options if the staff decides to make another change.
That depth is actually one of the biggest reasons the current situation is so encouraging. Day has said the Buckeyes feel they have more depth along the offensive line than they have had in a long time. That matters because the goal is not simply to identify five starters.
Ohio State wants to be able to withstand injuries, matchups and the physical demands of a championship season without completely rebuilding the line every time something changes.
The difference this year is that the Buckeyes appear to have found their preferred five while still maintaining legitimate competition behind them. For Moore, that means the opportunity is finally his. For Siereveld, it means returning to a position where Ohio State believes he can be even more impactful.
For the Buckeyes, it means a position battle that looked like one of the biggest uncertainties of the preseason may have quietly turned into one of the team’s biggest strengths.
Nothing is official until Ohio State takes the field against Ball State on Sept. 5. But as of today, the evidence is becoming difficult to ignore. Ian Moore looks like Ohio State’s left tackle. Austin Siereveld looks like its right guard.
The battle may not have officially ended, but it sure looks like the Buckeyes have already found their answer.
