On Thayer Munford’s Rose Bowl redo, C.J. Stroud’s motivation and Chris Olave’s presence

On Dec 30, 2021

LOS ANGELES — Sporting his ‘Block O’ jersey, Thayer Munford walked through the gates of the Dignity Health Sports Park for one of his final Ohio State football practices on Wednesday.

The fifth-year senior did not have his sights set on the Rose Bowl when he opted to return for his season. Yet this detour — and some other extenuating circumstances — gave him the chance to close out one other unsatisfying episode from his career.

Back in 2018, Munford earned the starting left tackle job as a sophomore. However, a back injury prevented him from playing in the Rose Bowl. Joshua Alabi stepped up in his place.

After putting off the NFL Draft to return for 2021, Munford was asked to move inside to left guard for the good of the team. When Nicholas Petit-Frere opted out of the Rose Bowl, however, the Buckeye coaches sent Munford back out to left tackle for one final game at what had been his starting spot for parts of four seasons.

He said he feels “at home,” and can’t wait for Sunday’s kickoff.

“The first time I came out here, it kind of affected me a lot, because I really wanted to play that game, but I couldn’t — I physically couldn’t play that game,” Munford said. “Coming out here now, not really having to worry about injuries, it’s pretty nice.”

That back injury actually followed Munford into 2019 as well. Only after fixing that issue did he enjoy his real breakout in 2020.

While Munford’s NFL future may be at guard, and the versatility gained this season may only help him, the Buckeyes recognized the sacrifice he made by moving inside this season.

“You come back for your senior year to play tackle, which is where all the notoriety is, and now by the way, ‘Hey, we need you to go play guard, would you?’ ” OSU offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said. “I think that’s why he was recognized as being the guy that wears the ‘Block O,’ because in this day and age — ‘Hey, what about me?’ ”

Munford would change one thing about Saturday’s game. While he wore that Block O No. 0 uniform for practice, he will need to wear his usual No. 75 against Utah.

“As a lineman, yes, I want to wear the number 0,” Munford said. If they allow me to wear the number 0, I would do it. I would not care.”

What else did we learn Wednesday?

Many players say they are humbled simply to be a Heisman Trophy finalist — and so does C.J. Stroud. Many of them probably don’t mean it, at least not completely, and neither does Stroud. “Who just wants to see somebody just take the fourth place and be all happy with it?” Stroud said. “I’ve never been that type of player. I’m a competitor. I’m not just going to take that and be all jolly and happy with it. It will drive me for the rest of my life probably.” … Stroud said he is not overthinking being back home in the L.A. area for the Rose Bowl. But he definitely has put some thought into why he did not end up at USC or UCLA. “I can’t really speak for everybody, but me personally, the local schools didn’t really recruit me hard until the very end,” Stroud said. “To me, I will never be a second choice. So Ohio State, they showed me love from the beginning.” … Stroud also thinks he knows why more California quarterbacks don’t stay on the West Coast. “You go to the USC and UCLA games, and quite honestly, it’s just kind of boring. Without all the people, the fans aren’t in tune. They kind of just are there on vacation and whatnot. You go to the other schools out of state, and their fans are kind of like fanatics. They don’t really care what people think about them. They’re wearing all type of stuff and yelling at the top of their lungs.” …

Wilson said it was not clear whether Chris Olave would play in the Rose Bowl until the team arrived in California. The All-American receiver performed only minimal individual drills while continuing to attend OSU practices after opting out. Wilson said Olave is completing other duties, as well. “I think he likes being around his brothers,” Wilson said. “I think he likes being around his teammates. I think he likes practicing, and they’re making a decision that’s best for his future. He’s trying to still be a great team leader, great teammate and be here.” … With Olave and Garrett Wilson both opting out, OSU’s young receivers inherit bigger roles for Saturday. That includes Marvin Harrison Jr., who Wilson said has been “off the charts” in his attention to detail in practice for several weeks. “Coach (Brian) Hartline, if he were sitting here, would have told you the last five or six weeks, Marvin Harrison has practiced as well as any receiver we’ve had,” Kevin Wilson said. “It’s one thing during practice, now take the driving range to the golf course. Now take it to the Rose Bowl. Take it against a quality defensive football team.” … Wilson anticipates OSU’s coaches needing to calm the young receivers down a bit. “Sometimes when you play the skill positions, when you squeeze too tight and try too hard, it doesn’t go your way,” Wilson said. “Let the game come to you, play as hard as you can, play well without the ball, and all of a sudden the ball will find you, and you make the cosmic plays that look like you had a great game because you have one, two, or three catches.” …

Did Ohio State consider moving leaving Munford at left guard and moving Paris Johnson Jr. out to left tackle, since that’s what he will presumably play next season? Wilson said he brought the idea up, but the “stress of the game” and the need to switch from a right-handed stance to left-handed convinced them to leave him at right guard. But also, is that 2022 left tackle presumption premature? “I think in the off-season, I guess you kind of look between he and Dawand (Jones) to figure out who needs to be at left, who needs to be at right,” Wilson said. “There will be some conversations that can happen as you get into February and spring ball and moving forward and have some continuity.” …

Wilson’s name came up in connection to the Akron head coaching vacancy. He had friends reaching out to wish him good luck. Except he said he never spoke to anyone at the school about the vacancy. The former Indiana head coach said he is not rushing into another gig. “I’d love to have that opportunity, but I do love every day working with Ryan at Ohio State, what we do and the opportunities here,” Wilson said. “By no means am I at a point where I’m just dying to do something. I think, if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”

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