'Can't have a bad day at Ohio State'

COLUMBUS — Luke Montgomery started the 2024-25 season as a promising offensive lineman candidate on the Ohio State University football roster.He ended it as a front-line starter on a national championship team.In April 2024, during a visit home to support his younger brother Ryan's letter-of-intent signing to play quarterback for Georgia, Luke Montgomery put his first year at Ohio State in perspective and his future in focus."Things are going really good this spring, where you can sit back and develop, work on technique and grow as a team," said Montgomery, who had appeared in 11 of the Buckeyes' 13 games in 2023-24 and been one of four true freshmen to letter his first year in the program.A four-time all-Ohio selection at Findlay High, first on defense then on the offensive line, Montgomery stood 6-foot-5, weighed in at 310 pounds and was being groomed to the offensive guard position. Preseason depth charts had him backing up Tegra Tshabola on the right side.Heading into the season opener with Akron, OSU had Josh Simmons (LT), Donovan Jackson (LG), Alabama transfer Seth McLaughlin (C), Tshabola and Josh Fryar (RT) across the offensive front. On a team loaded with offensive talent — transfer quarterback Will Howard, running backs Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson, an elite receiving corps featuring freshman sensation Jeremiah Smith — Ohio State's offensive front seemed under constant scrutiny. Injuries played a huge factor, with Simmons going down with an ACL injury in a 32-31 loss to Oregon and McLaughlin suffering the same after a week later.Amid the reshuffling up front, Zen Michalski, who replaced Simmons at left tackle, was injured as well, although not lost for the season.A narrow 21-17 win over a Nebraska team that was a huge underdog to the Buckeyes raised concerns even more. Then came the heartache of heartaches, a 13-10 loss to Michigan that didn't keep the Buckeyes out of the expanded 12-team College Football Playoffs, but gave them essentially no chance to win it all.A month later, following Monday's 34-23 win over Notre Dame, Ryan Day and the Buckeyes were hoisting the national championship trophy.Montgomery played a big role in earning that title.He had seen considerable action throughout the season, replacing Michalski, who had replaced Jackson, who had replaced Simmons.Leading up to the playoffs, Montgomery joined a rotation of guards that included Austin Siereveld and Tshabola. And the Buckeyes, perhaps empowered and refocused by a soul-searching team meeting following the Michigan game, suddenly clicked as well as they had all season."The facts were laid out there," Howard told CBS Sports about the meeting, between players and Buckeyes' coach Ryan Day."People were challenged. Everyone, including myself, had to kind of look in the mirror a little bit and say, 'What can I do better? How can we fix this thing?' The thing that we clung to was that we still have this opportunity out in front of us to really right all these wrongs and go play for a national championship."Montgomery played well in playoff wins over Tennessee (42-17) and Oregon (41-24), then was the starting left guard in a 28-14 semifinal win over Texas, and the 34-23 win over Notre Dame that earned Ohio State its ninth national football championship.When CBS Sports selected its All-College Football Playoff team following the final, the offensive line consisted of Notre Dame's Pat Coogan at center with Ohio State's Jackson, Kelvin Banks of Texas and Notre Dame's Billy Schrauth the tackles. Montgomery, Siereveld and Tshabola, collectively, were the all-playoff team guards for the role they played in helping Ohio State win the title.For Montgomery and Findlay High grad Nate Riegle, a 6-3, 210-pound linebacker who took a chance with Ohio State and made the roster — and the Buckeyes' scout team — as a preferred walk-on, it was the culmination of the patience to survive the tough times and the determination to make the most of the situation when it arose."Coach Day always says that you can't have a bad day at Ohio State," Montgomery said earlier."There are going to be ups and downs. That's just the level of football (at Ohio State). You've got to focus on your game, just keep going on, and be grateful for that opportunity to see the limelight."