Ohio State’s Thayer Munford Will Be Available For Season Opener At Minnesota

Munford’s availability is key to determining how the Buckeyes line up in the trenches.

Although he was dealing with an undisclosed injury during fall camp, Ohio State fifth-year senior offensive lineman Thayer Munford will be available to play in the season opener at Minnesota on Thursday.

“He’s going to be available,” head coach Ryan Day said during his press conference on Monday afternoon. “But, if he wasn’t, we have some good, solid backups behind him.”

What position Munford will play this season remains to be seen, but his presences goes a long way in determining the Buckeyes’ lineup in the trenches. And if he’s able to go, it’s expected that he’ll be at left guard after three years of being the starting left tackle.

The willingness from Munford to move inside, which effectively opened a spot at right tackle for junior Dawand Jones, is one of the multitude of reasons why he was named this year’s recipient of the Block “O” jersey, which honors late All-American and national champion Bill Willis.

“First off, he’s from Ohio. Secondly, he’s been through a lot in his career,” Day said. “This is a guy who wasn’t very highly recruited and had to lose a bunch of weight to even earn a scholarship here. (He) had a back injury along the way, overcame a lot of obstacles and he’s done everything the right way. He decided to come back for another year and he just has the respect of everybody around here and really exemplifies everything that Bill Willis stood for.”

As for Munford’s move inside, redshirt junior Nicholas Petite-Frere – who will likely start in his place at left tackle – expects the same kind of production no matter where he lines up.

“He kind of plays almost like he did a tackle – and he was one of the best tackles in the nation,” Petit-Frere said. “I feel like he's one of the best guards in the nation, as well, which is a testament saying that he's probably one of the best offensive linemen in the nation. Thayer’s just an amazing competitor.”

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