The big name that was hired this offseason by Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes was Matt Patricia, who will be OSU’s new defensive coordinator.
He’s a former NFL coach and Super Bowl winner, and he comes with a ton of high-risk, high-reward energy.
You could make the argument that promoting Brian Hartline to offensive coordinator was also a major move for the Buckeyes, but it was an internal one. He’s long been thought of as one of the best wide receiver coaches in college football and he’s highly respected in the Ohio State program.
Getting the OC and DC hires right to replace Chip Kelly and Jim Knowles, respectively, is vital for Day and the Buckeyes. There was a hire that made a bit of a smaller splash but it’s arguably just as important for Ohio State, though. That was when Day was able to pull over Tyler Bowen from Virginia Tech to be the offensive line coach and run game coordinator.
Bowen had been VT’s offensive coordinator for the past two seasons, but he came to Columbus with a ton of great experience in general. He was the offensive line coach at Maryland in 2017, the tight ends coach and interim offensive coordinator and then co-offensive coordinator at Penn State from 2018 to 2020, and then he was the tight ends coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL in 2021.
That’s a resume that speaks for itself, and it’s the type of resume that plays well on the recruiting trail. Just look at how 3-star OSU offensive line commit Tucker Smith spoke about his future position coach.
“Coach Bowen is awesome,” Smith recently told Garrick Hodge of Eleven Warriors. “I am super excited to have him as my coach.”
Bowen recruited players like tight end Tyler Warren and offensive tackle Olumuyiwa Fashanu while at Penn State. Warren caught 104 passes for 1,233 yards and eight touchdowns last season for the Nittany Lions. Fashanu was the No. 11 overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft by the New York Jets.
Bowen is credited as the primary recruiter for 4-star offensive tackle recruit Maxwell Riley — ranked as the No. 7 offensive tackle in the 2026 class, according to 247Sports — and 4-star offensive tackle recruit Sam Greer. Smith was so excited about joining the Buckeyes that he commited just five days after receiving his offer from Bowen, Day and the Buckeyes.
“I’ve been to a lot of schools over the last year. Those visits have helped me sort through the deciding process. Ohio State is just an incredible school. I also have family nearby. I am very proud to tell people I am going to be a Buckeye,” Smith told Eleven Warriors.
Bowen is already helping Ohio State build its offensive line of the future, and everyone knows the trenches are where championships are won.
“He’s a terrific coach who will bring experience to the staff along with an excellent record as a recruiter,” Day said of Bowen when he hired him in February 2025.
So far, so good for the Buckeyes.
