Montgomery calls OSU’s first two seasons both rewarding and humbling | News, sports, jobs

LOS ANGELES – Having patient resolve may not be something that appeared in scouting reports on Ohio State offensive lineman Luke Montgomery when he was a four-star recruit, but it’s a trait that has helped him at OSU.

There were times over the past two seasons when the 6-4, 315-pound offensive guard from Findlay High School wished the trajectory of his college football career was trending upward at a faster pace. But his patience paid off when he played 31 snaps with the first-team offense in a 42-17 victory over Tennessee in a first-round College Football Playoff game, with hopes of something similar coming from him in the quarterfinals. of the CFP final against Oregon on Wednesday. at the Rose Bowl.

“It takes time, it takes perseverance. As a young player you will have good days and bad days. But as long as those good days continue to get better, you will become more consistent every day and that is when you will become a much better player. As an offensive lineman, it takes time and development.” Montgomery said Monday at Rose Bowl media day.

“It has been really rewarding. “It has also been a lesson in humility.” he said about his first two seasons at OSU. “I’ve been able to learn a lot from the coaches and players: Seth (McLaughlin), Donovan (Jackson) and Josh Fryar, Carson (Hinzman), Tegra (Tshabola), guys like that that have had the opportunity to play. .”

Ohio State has had to rebuild its offensive line after losing starting left tackle Josh Simmons and starting center Seth McLaughlin to season-ending injuries.

After struggling to run the ball against Indiana and Michigan, Ohio State’s coaches decided to rotate Montgomery, Austin Siereveld and Tshabola at the two offensive guard positions.

“When your time comes, your time comes. Control what you can control. I had an opportunity against Tennessee and I took advantage of it. “I just want to help this team in any way I can.” said Montgomery.

“You humiliate yourself pretty quickly here. When you get here and you see all the guys that are way better than you, and with more time to prepare, they’re going to be NFL guys, and they beat you and they beat you, and they beat you and they beat you, you just have to have a mentality of going in and fight hard. That’s what I’ve done so far. I think I have learned a lot in the last two years. I just can’t wait to keep growing.” said.

Playing a larger role for the Buckeyes was something that happened through gradual improvement and consistency in practice and application of what was learned. “It was just gradual over time” said Montgomery.

Montgomery’s younger brother, Ryan, a quarterback, signed with Georgia and will begin taking classes there when the second semester begins.

If the Buckeyes and Bulldogs win their next two playoff games, it would set up a national championship game between Ohio State and Georgia in Atlanta on Jan. 20.

“I texted him last night. It’s in New Orleans. He already moved to Georgia. I texted him a couple days ago and told him one game at a time, obviously, but for fun and laughs, see you in Atlanta. For my parents that would be a dream. “It’s pretty cool to have two kids playing at a major Division I level like this.” said Montgomery.

There are two other Northwest Ohio connections for OSU in the Rose Bowl.

Lima Senior graduate Diante Griffin, a Lima Senior defensive back, is the newest member of the Griffin family to be on OSU’s Rose Bowl roster, something he said he has thought about for many years.

“It was a dream growing up. It was a main goal when I first got here. “I said I wanted to go to the Rose Bowl.” Griffin said.

Freshman defensive end Nate Riegle, also a walker, was a teammate of Montgomery’s at Findlay High School. He chose the Buckeyes over several NCAA Division II offers.

“I had a couple Division II offers from the University of Findlay and Tiffin, Ohio Dominican and a couple other GMAC schools. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. “It was a great academic decision for me and Ohio State has a phenomenal program in what I wanted to do (Health and Medical Laboratory Sciences).” Riegle said.