During a media availability at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Wednesday, Ohio State linebackers coach James Laurinaitis was close to as excited as he could be about his room.
The second-year linebackers coach listed almost every scholarship player in his room when asked who he thought had proved they could play for him, before saying, “I really love my room.”
Despite the depth of the loaded room, three linebackers have separated themselves from the rest of the pack, according to Laurinaitis
“All three of (senior Sonny Styles, sophomore Payton Pierce and junior Arvell Reese) have a great rapport together,” Laurinaitis said. “I view all three as starters, whether we’re three backers or two backers, I think they’re all just starters, and they’re pushing each other that way.”
Most onlookers could’ve guessed that Styles and Reese would step into starting roles in 2025, after playing important parts in the Buckeyes’ national championship win last year, but Pierce, who gained most of his playing time last year on special teams, was not expected to be firmly in the mix to start for Ohio State this year.
According to Laurinaitis, the former four-star recruit out of Lucas, Texas, has impressed in practice.
“You just feel him every single practice, he is downhill, you can sense that wrestling background,” Laurinaitis said of Pierce. “He’s physical, he has the tough guy leadership qualities that are similar to (Tommy Eichenberg), and you know when that ball is run between the tackles that he’s going to down there and – you’d be surprised if he got through a practice without chips off of his face mask, and obviously that’s the way that I think the linebacker position should be played.”
Like his coach, Pierce appreciates the competition within the room, and now that he’s established himself as a starting caliber player alongside Styles and Reese, the 6’2 linebacker is simply aiming to continue to improve every day.
“It just started off with competing with the other two guys,” Pierce said of Styles and Reese when asked how he’s been able to carve out a role for himself on the defense. “I feel like I’ve made a statement on who I am, how I fit into this defense, and I’m just trying to build off that and keep playing. My goal is to be better than the other two guys and not let any of the younger guys be better than me.”
