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INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 06: Ohio State Buckeyes offensive lineman Austin Siereveld (67) lines up before the snap during the Big 10 Championship game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Indiana Hoosiers on December 6, 2025, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN. (Photo by Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Ohio State’s offense is built around elite skill talent, a future NFL quarterback, All-American receivers, and breakout running backs. But when you strip the layers back to what makes that offense work, it often comes down to the line that protects and propels it. And no player on that line matters more for 2026 than Austin Siereveld.
Siereveld returned to Columbus for his fourth season with a resume most offensive linemen can only dream of. Starter at multiple spots, trusted leader, and a captain for a Buckeyes team that again played for a national title in 2025.
That combination of experience, versatility, and reliability, particularly at tackle where mistakes are magnified, is precisely why Siereveld isn’t just a starter on the depth chart. He is a foundation piece for an offense that expects to compete for championships.
A rare blend of versatility, experience, and trust
Siereveld entered Ohio State’s program as a four-star recruit from Lakota East High School in Liberty Township, Ohio, a strong prospect but not one of the nation’s most heralded.
But his climb has been remarkable. After redshirting in 2023, he quickly worked his way into the lineup in 2024, starting six games at guard and contributing at both tackle spots, helping an offensive line that allowed only four sacks through the College Football Playoffs on the way to the national championship.
By 2025, Siereveld had earned the full starting left tackle job, started all 14 games, and became one of Ohio State’s four captains, a rare honor for an interior lineman and a clear sign of how much trust his teammates and coaches place in him.
He earned second-team All-Big Ten honors from both coaches and media, a testament not just to playing time but to impact.
His production speaks to more than durability. Across 810 snaps in 2025, Siereveld allowed 15 total pressures, just two of which were quarterback hits, and did not give up a sack, according to Pro Football Focus. That level of consistency on the blind side is the kind of reliability championships are built on, especially in a conference that regularly features elite edge rushers.
Why his role matter more than ever
Left tackle is more than just a position. In a league where teams live and die by their edge protection, the blind side has to be rock solid, especially with Ohio State’s quarterback Julian Sayin and a physical running game that requires clean, sustained movement at the point of attack.
Opponents will test the Buckeyes there early and often, including in marquee games like the anticipated Week 2 matchup at Texas, where explosive defensive ends will try to disrupt everything. A mistake at tackle in that spot can shape an entire game.
That is why Siereveld’s experience is so valuable. He has lived through multiple position challenges in Columbus, from sliding inside at guard in 2024 to holding down the blind side against premier pass rushers in 2025. No other lineman on the roster has that type of resume, which makes him the closest thing Ohio State has to a “sure thing” on the offensive front.
And while some NFL scouts project Siereveld’s long-term future as a guard, college football is about impact now, not projection years away. What he has already shown is that he can compete and excel against elite competition today, and that is exactly what Ohio State needs if it is going to protect its skill players and sustain explosive drives in 2026.
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The tension at tackle only elevates his importance
There is still a healthy competition brewing at left tackle, with young prospects like Ian Moore pushing for the job, and discussions about moving Siereveld inside if someone else seizes the outside job. That dynamic makes Siereveld even more valuable, not less.
Whether he ends up at left tackle or helps anchor guard, he is one of the linemen most capable of flourishing in multiple spots, and that positional flexibility is itself a strategic advantage.
Ohio State could opt for the highest ceiling path by sliding Siereveld to guard and letting a younger tackle claim the blind side, but that is only wise if rising sophomore Ian Moore proves he can handle elite edge rushers at a consistent level.
If Moore does not take that leap this spring, Siereveld remains the Buckeyes’ best floor option at left tackle.
The lineman everyone else follows
Coaches talk about offensive linemen “setting the tone,” but Siereveld actually lives that role. He enters 2026 as one of the leaders of a unit that returns most of its starters, anchoring a group built for both continuity and competition.
Players like Carson Hinzman and Luke Montgomery handle interior duties with authority, and young prospects push behind them, but the line’s most irreplaceable player, the one whose presence sets the entire structure, is Austin Siereveld.
In a unit where the margins between good and great are measured in split-second decisions at the point of attack, veteran leadership and proven performance matter. That is why Austin Siereveld is not just a starter on Ohio State’s 2026 offensive line.
Siereveld is its most important non-skill player and the axis on which the Buckeyes’ offensive aspirations will spin.
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