Josh Padilla could be Ohio State’s most valuable offensive lineman who doesn’t start
· Yahoo Sports
Ohio State still has one major question to answer along its offensive line: Who will take over at right guard?
Josh Padilla may be the answer.
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He could be the starting right guard, or he could be the player who never officially starts but still ends up playing a starter’s amount of snaps and becomes one of the most important offensive linemen on the roster. That is what makes Padilla’s role so fascinating entering the season.
Ohio State has spent the offseason trying to solve one central question along the offensive line: Who are the best five?
The answer has never been quite as simple as finding a starter at each position.
Austin Siereveld can play tackle or guard. Carson Hinzman and Phillip Daniels have experience at multiple spots. Ian Moore has pushed himself into the conversation after a strong spring as a tackle. Gabe VanSickle has already shown he can step into a role as a guard as well.
Then there is Padilla, a redshirt junior who has spent the first three years of his college career learning how to be the type of offensive lineman every team needs when the inevitable injuries and lineup changes arrive.
As preseason camp opened, Padilla was getting first-team reps at right guard, a sign that he is very much in the competition rather than simply waiting behind the starters. At the same time, Ryan Day and offensive line coach Tyler Bowen remain committed to finding their “best five,” making the final configuration far from settled.
That uncertainty may actually be Padilla’s greatest advantage.
The right guard job is there for the taking
Ohio State lost Tegra Tshabola from last year’s starting five, leaving a vacancy on the interior, and Padilla has the experience and skill set to fill it.
The Ohio native is listed at 6-foot-3 and 301 pounds, and his development has been deliberately patient. Padilla arrived in Columbus as a consensus four-star recruit from Huber Heights Wayne, ranked as the No. 6 player in Ohio and one of the nation’s top 10 interior offensive line prospects.
Throughout his time in Columbus, Ohio State has viewed Padilla as more than just a guard, giving him reps at center and allowing his versatility to become one of his biggest assets
Padilla did not play as a true freshman in 2023, then appeared in all 13 games as a redshirt freshman in 2024, recording 97 total snaps. In 2025, his role expanded substantially. He appeared in 13 games, accumulated 175 snaps and, most importantly, made his first career start in the Cotton Bowl against Miami, playing a career-high 45 snaps.
Those numbers are not enough to suggest Padilla has already established himself as an elite guard. But they do demonstrate something arguably more important entering this season. The Buckeyes have trusted him to develop within the program, and he has gradually moved closer to being a player the staff can rely on.
Now he gets his biggest opportunity yet.
First snap of the day for Ohio State’s offense:
— Tyler Danburg (@TylerDanburg) August 7, 2026
Austin Siereveld is back at LT, Josh Padilla at RG. Isaiah West is at RB for second-straight day. pic.twitter.com/Xc2ttoOQWN
If Padilla wins the right guard job, Ohio State could put together a starting five featuring experience at every position.
Siereveld and Daniels back as the starting tackles with Carson Hinzman and Luke Montgomery remaining in the middle, while Padilla would provide another experienced interior presence. Unlike simply plugging a live body into the vacancy, Padilla would give Ohio State a player who has been preparing for this exact moment for years.
The “sixth man” job might be just as valuable
Here is where the conversation gets even more interesting. What if Padilla does not win the starting job?
In my opinion that would not necessarily mean he failed. In fact, it could create one of the most valuable roles on the entire roster.
Offensive lines rarely survive an entire season with the same five players. Someone gets hurt. Someone struggles. A matchup demands a different combination. A player needs a breather. Or a late-season injury suddenly turns a backup into a starter in the biggest game of the year.
That is where having a player like Padilla becomes enormously valuable. If Ohio State settles on Moore, Montgomery, Hinzman, Siereveld and Daniels as its starting five, Padilla could essentially become the first offensive lineman off the bench.
Unlike a traditional sixth man, he could potentially fill multiple positions and roles. That matters because Ohio State has deliberately emphasized cross training its veteran offensive linemen. Bowen has previously explained that the goal is ultimately to find the best five while preparing older linemen to move between guard and tackle. Padilla fits that philosophy perfectly.
He can provide interior depth at all three spots with his previous experience at center, giving the staff another option when injuries strike. That means Ohio State does not necessarily have to shuffle three or four players around because one starter goes down.
Instead, Padilla can enter, take over a position and allow everyone else to remain comfortable. That is an incredibly valuable skill over a potentially 15 or 16 game season.
So Ryan Day said Josh and Ian are in the biggest competition for changing the OL.
— Lock O’Clock (@TheLockAgenda) July 29, 2026
If Padilla plays good enough: RG and Siereveld at LT
If Moore plays good enough: LT and Siereveld at RG
Should be sorted by practice 7 is the hope.
The best outcome may be both
The ideal scenario for Ohio State is not necessarily Padilla starting every game. It is Padilla proving he is good enough to force his way into the best five while still retaining the versatility that makes him such a valuable insurance policy.
The latest developments suggest that possibility is very real. Padilla has been receiving first-team right guard work during preseason camp while Ohio State continues experimenting with its other combinations. The competition is not simply about naming starters, it is about determining which configuration gives the Buckeyes their strongest overall unit.
That distinction is important. If Padilla wins the job, Ohio State gets a player who has patiently developed behind experienced veterans and now has enough experience to handle a full-time role. If he does not, the Buckeyes may have something nearly as valuable.
A proven, experienced sixth offensive lineman capable of stepping into multiple positions without the entire unit having to be rebuilt around him. And that is particularly important for an Ohio State team with national championship expectations.
Julian Sayin does not need an offensive line that looks perfect on paper. He needs one that remains functional when things inevitably go wrong. Bo Jackson, Isaiah West and the rest of the running backs need consistent blocking.
Arthur Smith’s offense is expected to place significant emphasis on physicality and the run game, and none of that works if the line loses its cohesion every time one player leaves the field. Padilla can help prevent that.
Maybe he becomes the starting right guard. Maybe he becomes the sixth man. Either way, Ohio State may ultimately discover that his greatest value is not where his name appears on the depth chart.
It is simply knowing that if something changes, Josh Padilla can be the answer.