The state of Ohio received its first big surprise from the off-season of 2021. On Saturday morning, offensive striker Thayer Munford announced on the social networks he’s coming back for a fifth year with the Buckeyes. Munford is able to do this due to an amendment to the NCAA rules that stated that the 2020 season will not count against the eligibility of any player. This means that even veterans like Munford can return for the fifth year without having done a redshirt season.
Munford is not the first Scarlet and Gray senior to take advantage of this change in normal eligibility rules. Senior cornerback Marcus Williamson announced last week, during a media meeting ahead of the College Football Playoff national championship game, that he would also return to Ohio for the fifth year.
After originally studying in Cincinnati LaSalle High School, and helping Lancers win consecutive state championships in 2014 and 2015, Munford transferred to Washington High School in Massillon, Ohio. The four-star prospect and the country’s 28th best offensive tackle was only allowed to play three games during its final year after the transfer.
Despite his interest in the state of Ohio, Munford faced adversity to become a Buckeye. After fighting academically. Munford had to improve his grades to enroll in Ohio State and coaches Scarlet and Gray needed him to lose 50 pounds in order to play for the Buckeyes.
Listed as the backup to attack right Prince Isaiah as a freshman in 2018, Munford took the field for 202 plays. The following year, Munford was named starter in the left tackle to start the season and started 13 games before suffering an injury that forced him to stay out of the Roe Bowl. Munford was part of an offense that who broke several Ohio State and Big Ten records, including total yards per game (535.6 / game) and passing touchdowns (51) while blocking for the quarterback Dwayne Haskins and the running backs JK Dobbins and Mike Weber. After the year, Munford was named an All-Big Ten honorable mention by coaches and the media.
After the 2018 season, Munford underwent back surgery that kept him out for the entire off-season. However, when the year started, Munford was the Buckeyes’ initial left striker again in 2019, blocking for Dobbins and defender Justin Fields. The back continued to bother him throughout the year, but Munford remained part of an offensive line group that threw 800 or more snaps in an attack that ffinished fourth in the country in yards per game in 2019 (529.9) and third in points per game (46.9). After the season, Munford was named the second All-Big Ten team by coaches and the media.
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Back in health in 2020, Munford was one of the most seasoned offensive line attackers to come back from the Big Ten. Munford started again in the tackle on the left, helping to keep Fields standing and a hasty attack that was the eighth best in the country with 256.88 yards per game. After reaching the College Football Playoff semifinal the year before, Munford and the Buckeyes took it a step further, advancing to the national championship game, where they lost to Alabama. Munford was named the All-Big Ten of the main team by both coaches and the media for his performances.
Munford now gives Ohio State a seasoned offensive striker with three years of initial experience, returning to the left tackle for the 2021 season. early for the NFL Draft, and hopes that right guard Wyatt Davis will also declare, Scarlet and Gray must have a lot of talent and experience coming back next year Munford Announcement.