By Jim Naveau

jnaveau@limanews.com

LOS ANGELES – Having a patient resolve might not be something that appeared in scouting reports on Ohio State offensive lineman Luke Montgomery when he was a four-star recruit but it is a trait which has helped him at OSU.

There were times during the last two season when the 6-4, 315-pound offensive guard from Findlay High School wished the trajectory of his college football career was trending upward at a faster pace. But patience paid off for him when he played 31 snaps with the first-team offense in a 42-17 win over Tennessee in a first-round College Football Playoff game, with hopes for something similar from him in a CFP quarterfinal against Oregon on Wednesday in the Rose Bowl.

“It takes time, it takes consistency. As a young player you’re going to have good days and bad days. But as long as those good days continue to get better then you become more consistent on an every day basis and that’s when you become a lot better player. As an offensive lineman it takes time, it takes development,” Montgomery said Monday at Rose Bowl media day.

“It’s been really rewarding. It’s also been humbling as well,” he said about his first two seasons at OSU. “I’ve been able to learn so much from the coaches and players – Seth (McLaughlin), Donovan (Jackson) and Josh Fryar, Carson (Hinzman), Tegra (Tshabola), just guys like that who have had the opportunity to play.”

Ohio State has had to reconstruct its offensive line after losing starting left tackle Josh Simmons and starting center Seth McLaughlin to season-ending injuries.

After struggling to run the ball against Indiana and Michigan, Ohio State’s coaches decided to rotate Montgomery, Austin Siereveld and Tshabola at the two offensive guard positions.

“When your time comes your time comes. Control what you can control. I got an opportunity against Tennessee and I took advantage of it. I just want to help this team any possible way I can,” Montgomery said.

“You get humbled here pretty fast. When you get here and see all the guys who are a lot better than you, and with more time to prep they’re going to be NFL guys, and you get beat and get beat and get beat and get beat by them you just have to have a mindset of go in there and fight your butt off. That’s what I’ve done so far. I think I’ve learned a lot the last two years. I just can’t wait to continue to grow,” he said.

Playing a bigger role for the Buckeyes was something that happened because of gradual improvement and consistency in practice and applying what he learned. “It was just gradual over time,” Montgomery said.

Montgomery’s younger brother Ryan, a quarterback, signed with Georgia and will begin taking classes there when the second semester starts. If the Buckeyes and Bulldogs win their next two playoff games that would create an Ohio State-Georgia national championship game in Atlanta on Jan. 20.

“I texted him last night. He’s down in New Orleans. He’s already moved in at Georgia. I texted him a couple days ago and said one game at a time, obviously, but for kicks and giggles, I’ll see you in Atlanta. For my parents that would be a dream. It’s pretty good to have two kids playing at a major Division I level like this,” Montgomery said.

There are two other northwest Ohio connections for OSU at the Rose Bowl.

Lima Senior graduate Diante Griffin, a walk-on defensive back from Lima Senior, is the newest member of the Griffin family to be on OSU’s roster for a Rose Bowl, something he said he has thought about for many years.

“It was a dream growing up. It was a main goal when I first came here. I said I wanted to go to the Rose Bowl,” Griffin said.

Freshman defensive end Nate Riegle, also a walk-on, was a high school teammate of Montgomery at Findlay High School. He chose the Buckeyes over several NCAA Division II offers.

“I had a couple Division II offers from the University of Findlay and Tiffin, Ohio Dominican and a couple other GMAC schools. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. It was a big academic decision for me and Ohio State has a phenomenal program in what I wanted to do.(Health and Medical Laboratory Science),” Riegle said.