Players to Watch: Carson Hinzman looks for big finish to Ohio State career

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Every day from now until the start of the season, Land-Grant Holy Land is highlighting Ohio State football players that you should be watching this season. Check out all of our ”Player to Watch” articles to get ready for the season opener against Ball State.

The list of standout Ohio State centers is long and distinguished. Guys like Nick Mangold, Mike Brewster, Corey Linsley, Jacoby Boren, Pat Elflein, Billy Price, and Seth McLaughlin (among others) have established a tradition of excellent in the middle of the OSU offensive line over the years.

Entering his redshirt senior season, Carson Hinzman is looking to cement his legacy among the best Buckeye snappers in history.

His path was unconventional. He lost a starting position to a transfer the year McLaughlin arrived from Alabama, but he enters 2026 with an eye on adding something none of those guys named above have on their resumes — a second national championship ring.

Hinzman returned to the starting lineup in 2025, starting all 14 games and playing 841 total snaps on offense and special teams. He played well, earning first-team All-American honors from the American Football Coaches Association.

Despite that, he was curiously named just a third-team All-Big Ten performer, and he excelled in the classroom, earning Academic All-Big Ten honors and being named an OSU Scholar-Athlete.

Ohio State’s offensive line will undergo some changes in 2026. Early in camp, Hinzman was the anchor in the middle, playing inside of tackle Ian Moore and guard Luke Montgomery to his left and tackle Phillip Daniels and guard Austin Siereveld to his right.

This seems like the best configuration for Ryan Day’s offense and Tyler Bowen’s offensive line. Hinzman’s experience and line calls will be a valuable part of what new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith will do in the upcoming season.

The 6-foot-5, 301-pound product of Saint Croix Central was part of Ohio State’s 2022 recruiting class, finishing as the No. 3 rated player out of the state of Wisconsin regardless of position. The Spring Valley, Wisconsin native was a four-star prospect and Ohio State worked hard to land Hinzman, who was the No. 9-ranked interior offensive lineman in the country.

Hinzman redshirted in 2022, but he appeared in 13 games (12 starts) as a redshirt freshman in 2023, playing 69 snaps at Notre Dame and a season-high 79 against Penn State. As a redshirt sophomore, he split time between guard and center on Ohio State’s national championship team, playing 14 games and starting nine for the No. 7 offense in the nation, which allowed the fewest tackles for loss per game in the country, at just 3.75.

Hinzman and his fellow linemen allowed just four sacks in the team’s four-game College Football Playoff run that saw Ohio State top Notre Dame for the trophy.

There’s not a lot left for Hinzman to accomplish at the collegiate level, but a Rimington Trophy is probably chief among those things he has yet to achieve and one could be within his grasp in 2026.

He’ll get plenty of opportunities to show what he can do in Smith’s running-oriented attack, and he’ll also see plenty of snaps in which he’s tasked with protecting Julian Sayin long enough for Jeremiah Smith to break open deep down the field.

If there’s an unsung veteran on the Ohio State offense who could have a big year, it’s Carson Hinzman, which makes him a player to watch this fall.

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