After earning snaps in just two of Ohio State’s first six games, sophomore guard Gabe VanSickle has come on late for the Buckeyes.
With an injury to backup guard Josh Padilla ahead of Ohio State’s and junior guard Tegra Tshabola standing as doubtful, VanSickle has been thrust into a potential starting spot in the Buckeyes’ biggest game of the year.
That steady development has mirrored what Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has seen from the Buckeyes’ offensive linemen in their 2024 postseason run.
Day pointed to examples like guard Luke Montgomery, center Carson Hinzman and left tackle Austin Siereveld, players who stepped into major roles late in the season after limited action earlier in the year.
“Well, you think about last year at this time, where we were. Luke Montgomery is a great example of that,” Day said. “In the Tennessee game, he came in, really hadn’t played a lot of football. Goes on to play in those playoff games. Same thing with Carson [Hinzman]. He played the year before, played behind Seth [McLaughlin], and then had to step up in a big way late in the season. Austin Siereveld got a bunch of reps during the playoff run and played a lot of football.”
For Day, VanSickle’s emergence fits that same blueprint. The Ohio State staff believes his growth is a product of high-level preparation and the competition along the offensive line in practice.
“This is a good example of Gabe, who has continually gotten better each week, and a big part of it is the training and what we do every day in practice, going against very good players every day in practice. So he should have confidence. Now, he’s going against an excellent front and a really good defense, but that’s what we expect this time of year in the playoffs. That’s why you have to trust your training going in. He’s gotten better every week. I think the guys have confidence that he’s going to do his job. ‘How do you do that?’ You build trust every day with your teammates on how you go about business, and Gabe has done that.”
That confidence is backed up by tangible progress in game action. Over the final stretch of the regular season, VanSickle’s snap count steadily increased. The Coopersville, Mich. native, logged 13 snaps against Purdue, followed by 44 snaps against UCLA and 16 reps versus Rutgers.
Though he didn’t play in Ohio State’s rivalry bout against Michigan, VanSickle returned to the rotation in a significant way during the Big Ten Championship Game, playing 29 snaps, which marks his second-highest total of the season.
Guard Josh Padilla said VanSickle’s development was clear as early as fall camp, noting that the sophomore continues to grow and improve with every game.
“Gabe is coming along,” Padilla said. “I knew Gabe was gonna be good at our fall camp this year. He had a really good fall camp. That’s why I was like ‘He’s gonna be a really good player.’ It’s shown, Gabe has done really good things this year, and he’s doing really good things.
Montgomery expressed a similar sentiment, believing that VanSickle has the potential to develop into an elite offensive lineman if he continues on his current trajectory.
“He’s gonna have a very great career at Ohio State,” Montgomery said. “I think sky’s the limit for him. I really think he’s got the gifted ability to be an All-American and a first round pick, if he continues to just play and play hard and just continue to have fun playing the game like I do, I think he’s a great player.”
