Austin Siereveld aims to build family connection with Ohio State football

Austin Siereveld didn’t need much to communicate with his twin brother Aiden on Lakota East High School’s offensive line.

With one Siereveld on either side of the center, pulling and trapping for the other in the Thunderhawks’ triple-option offense, sometimes all Austin and Aiden needed was one word or signal, knowing exactly what the other one needed.

“We didn’t have to say anything to each other,” Austin said. “We both were going both ways. We literally just gave ourselves a head tap and we ran in, or we gave a thumbs up or a finger saying ‘One more play.’ We were battling, playing our hearts out.

“I trust (Aiden) to do his job. He’s reliable. I mean, he was a tank for us. When we needed a stop, we both came in and got it done.”

Relationships were at the center of how Austin learned to love football, side-by-side with Aiden learning the basics of the game from their father Clay, a former Ohio Northern offensive lineman.

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Relationships were at the center of Austin's decision to commit to Ohio State in the first place, creating that connection with Justin Frye and the other in-state offensive line commits even before he joined the program in January as an early enrollee.

For Austin, relationships are a requirement.

Ahead of his first season without his brother on the offensive line, Austin is looking to build that same family connection when he makes the jump to the college level.

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Siereveld started building his relationship with Ohio State early.

In the summer ahead of his junior season, he attended multiple recruiting camps at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, getting the attention of both former Ohio State graduate assistant Kennedy Cook and offensive line coach Greg Studrawa, who extended an offer after the Buckeyes’ win against Penn State in 2021.

It was a relationship that came into question after Studrawa was replaced by Frye in January.

Siereveld remembers waiting for a phone call from the Buckeyes’ new hire for over a week, reading reports that Frye had already talked to players Luke Montgomery and Joshua Padilla. But after Frye got Siereveld's correct phone number, the connection began, introducing himself with a 45-minute phone call before traveling to Cincinnati to see the lineman in person on the basketball court.

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Sitting in the same gym as then-Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell, Cincinnati assistant coach Kerry Coombs and then-Kentucky offensive line coach Eric Wolford, Frye saw all he needed to within the first 30 seconds of warmups.

“Coach Frye sent a text and said, ‘Hey, I watched him in warmups and I knew in the first 30 seconds of watching him warm up that this guy is a true offensive lineman,' " Clay Siereveld said.

Clay remembers his son being impressed by how much of a player's coach Frye was, someone who had played the position before.

In Austin, Frye saw the same things Lakota East coach Rick Haynes saw when he first met the 2023 offensive lineman: a combination of strength and size that moved extremely well for a person that big.

“I just remember having a conversation with Austin and just telling him, athletically, he can be the best (lineman) I’ve ever coached,” Haynes said.

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Even with his 6-foot-5, 320-pound frame, Siereveld still had to start at square one as he prepared to join Ohio State’s offensive line.

Having learned to be a lineman in a triple-option offense, he had to relearn his stance and footwork, breaking habits that have been ingrained since he arrived at Lakota East.

“(Frye) probably could tell (by) watching me, like my pass was awful,” Siereveld said.

Ever since he committed to the Buckeyes in May, Siereveld has been working side-by-side with Ohio State’s other two in-state offensive line commits, trying to match the physicality of Padilla and the athleticism of Montgomery.

Over the course of the 2022 college season, in which the three attended each Ohio State home game, Siereveld began to develop a close relationship with both Padilla and Montgomery, adding in Miles Walker when he committed in July.

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“It’s like four brothers now that do everything together as one,” Clay Siereveld said. “It’s kind of scary that they’re growing together from being from two different states in four different areas that they’re almost inseparable. They do everything as a unit.”

Clay sees that same “twin sense” Austin developed with Aiden, picking up aspects of Padilla’s, Montgomery's and Walker’s personality and feeling it may lead to an easier transition away from Aiden, who has been on the same line for 18 years.

While Austin doesn’t know exactly what it will be like without Aiden on the line next to him, he knows he, Padilla, Montgomery and Walker are building something special.

“Once we all four get rolling,” Siereveld said, “I don’t think no one can stop us.”

Aiden Siereveld is excited to watch Austin shine

Aiden doesn’t have the same path as Austin.

He joined Lakota East’s varsity team at the same time as Austin, donning a fully-grown beard next to his twin brother's 6-5 frame, knowing the pair were always on the same page.

“I knew what he was capable of, and I knew that I could count on him no matter what,” Aiden said. “He could also count on me. We both (kept) each other in check no matter what, especially if we get heated, which happens a lot.”

But Aiden never got the same attention his brother, hearing from coaches that he was "basically Austin, but five inches shorter."

Aiden admits he's burnt out from football, exhausted from playing both ways for a high school team that didn't have a lot of experience. But deep down, Aiden said, he knew he wanted to get looked at the same way as his brother and is instead planning to major in mechanical engineering at a college he's still trying to decide on.

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Nevertheless, Aiden is extremely proud of Austin.

While Austin said he can’t picture what it will be like to play for 100,000 people inside Ohio Stadium, Aiden said that’s the moment he can't wait to experience.

Aiden has been side by side with Austin through his hard work, and is waiting to live in the moment where it pays off for his twin brother.

“It will be a proud moment to see all his hard work actually show itself,” Aiden said. “He always wanted to play somewhere that was good. And he wants to win and win bad. He’s willing to do what it takes.”

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Austin Siereveld to build family connection with Ohio State football