COLUMBUS — Ohio State’s search for its starting right guard is still ongoing, but one week away from kicking off the season, Tegra Tshabola is making his final push to lock down the job.

Tshabola, now a junior after arriving at Ohio State as a top-150 overall player in the 2022 recruiting class, has been in a month-long battle with Carson Hinzman and Luke Montgomery to solidify the final spot on the offensive line. At 6-foot-6-inches and 327 lbs., Tshabola carries the prototypical frame of a tackle and was recruited to play the position.

With Ohio State thinner at tackle than guard, Tshabola could still find himself being the primary backup at tackle should injuries arise. But with Josh Simmons and Josh Fryar entrenched at tackle for now, Tshabola has slid down to guard and finds himself on the cusp of a starting role as the Buckeyes undergo a mock game in Ohio Stadium today.

“I think he’s definitely going to play (next week) at guard,” head coach Ryan Day said of Tshabola on Thursday. “Whether he starts, we’ll probably decide after Saturday, but he’s definitely going to play unless something drastic were to happen. I think he’s earned that opportunity. How much and if it’s the whole game, we’ll decide that as we get through the weekend…”

Tshabola, a West Chester, Ohio native, said he’s shown up every day and competed during camp, and the ability to focus solely on playing guard this offseason has allowed him to chase a singular goal. That he’s competing directly against a player who has an entire year of starting experience has only further served to keep Tshabola pushing to improve.

“I feel good about the competition because I know it’s made me a better football player,” Tshabola said. “A guy as talented as Carson pushed me to be as good as I am right now.”

But while he feels good about the camp he’s had and the position he’s put himself in, Tshabola isn’t planning to slow up as he nears the finish line of preseason camp.

“I’m a guy who is really hard on myself,” he said. “I like to say that it’s good, I’m pushing myself every day and trying to be better no matter what. But the moment you get complacent, that’s when s—- hits the fan. So I try to push myself every day, and whenever anything is going good, I just tell myself it could always be better and that there’s always something to fix.”

Offensive line coach Justin Frye believes confidence has had a great deal to do with why Tshabola has been able to assert himself this preseason and push for playing time.

“As you get older as a lineman, the game slows down, and it’s really starting to slow down for him,” Frye said. “Using his physicality, using his size, using his strength, all have been showing up a lot. He’s been getting thrust in there, and the beautiful thing about this place is always the guys he’s going against —Tyleik (Williams), Ty (Hamilton), and Hero (Kanu). We’ve got some dudes over there, so when you’re practicing, you’re getting real reps. You can examine the good and the bad … When he’s been thrust in there, he hasn’t backed down and has done some good stuff.”

It doesn’t hurt that Tshabola is a sponge of information, constantly trying to acquire every piece of knowledge available to improve himself as a player. So much so, that he said Frye often has to tell him to slow down and stay focused on what’s in front of him rather than what comes next.

“I’m always asking questions,” he said. “I’m always trying to grow and improve. I’m always trying to just gain that extra inch.”

Surrounding himself with a veteran group of linemen who aren’t short on experience to share also helps. Donovan Jackson has started 26 consecutive games at left guard for the Buckeyes, and Tshabola appreciates the resources Jackson and the rest of the starters are for those with little to no game experience.

“The older guys we have on this team, it’s crazy,” Tshabola said. “The amount of knowledge they have, the amount of game knowledge, and just the seasoned knowledge —I haven’t played a full season or played more than a half yet. When you have guys like Donnie (Jackson), guys like Josh (Fryar), that helps a crazy amount.”

While Frye believes Tshabola’s confidence is rising, Tshabola said he’s never lacked belief in himself or his abilities. More than anything, he said the mental shift from trying to identify when his time would come, to just keeping his head down and working toward that time, whenever it may come, has relieved him of some angst.

“I had a problem where I used to say, ‘Ok, now it’s my time.’ And when it didn’t come, then I was frustrated … Now I’m at this point where I feel like I can help this team win games,” he said.

Tshabola’s coaching staff is beginning to see it that way as well, and with one more strong showing today, his time indeed will have finally arrived.

Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on X @DillonDavis56.