Ohio State linebacker commit Payton Pierce has had a busy month, and his schedule is only going to get more hectic from here.
Three days after the four-star Texas product played in his final career high school game, Pierce was visited by Ohio State head coach Ryan Day on Dec. 5 for an in-home visit.
“It was awesome,” Pierce told Eleven Warriors Saturday. “He stayed over for about two hours and talked about everything. He got to meet everyone. It was a good meal. He wanted some Texas barbeque, so we got him some good Texas barbeque. We had a really good time.
“It was like watching The Blind Side growing up, you see the dude talking to all the coaches and it’s interesting because I’ve grown up thinking about that having coaches over to the house. Then having to clean my room up a little bit before they get there. It was a cool experience and I’m super grateful for it.”
Always great having the big man stop by! @ryandaytime pic.twitter.com/gqOenl6wlh
— Payton Pierce (@payton_pierce26) December 6, 2023
A few days after Day’s visit, Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles also checked in on his future player amid a recruiting trip in the Lone Star State.
“He came later this week and I was just able to catch up with him,” Pierce said. “I think he was on a recruiting trip checking out a couple of schools around here. It was good catching up with him and then he sent me my signing day stuff and some of the information I needed for graduating early.”
Pierce continues to maintain a close relationship with the Ohio State coaching staff, namely Day, Knowles and graduate assistant James Laurinaitis.
“I talk to them weekly,” he said. “Just depending on who it is. Coach Laurinaitis just FaceTimed me a few days ago. It’s someone new every week. I’ll get plenty of them when I get there, so they don’t bombard my phone, which is nice. They’re a really good mix of knowing when to call me.”
The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Pierce had one of the best seasons in the country for a prep linebacker, registering 181 tackles, 40 tackles for loss, eight sacks, four forced fumbles, four pass breakups and two blocked kicks while also scoring 11 total touchdowns on offense in 14 games for Lovejoy High School (Lucas, Texas).
For his efforts, Pierce was one of five high school Butkus Award finalists. Clemson commit Sammy Brown eventually won the award, but Pierce was honored to be nominated.
“It was awesome,” Pierce said. “You dream about being a Butkus finalist and award winner. I grew up paying attention to it every year to see who gets it because the guy who gets it always becomes a great NFL player. It’s an honor and it shows that working hard can get you far. I’m super grateful for it and now the goal is to get it in college now.”
Pierce will be an early enrollee at Ohio State and arrive on campus in January, but he’ll be dealing with a setback in his first collegiate semester. In his final prep game on Dec. 2, Pierce suffered an ankle injury and says he’ll be sidelined for a significant amount of time. He’ll use his first collegiate semester to rehab the ankle and dive into learning Ohio State’s defensive scheme.
“Getting healthy,” Pierce said when asked what his biggest priority was for his main goal as an early enrollee. “I’ve got a hurt ankle right now, so that’s my first priority is getting this ankle healed and getting back on the field with my guys. It was a tear, so I’m out for a while.”
Pierce will have a busy month before arriving on campus.
The Texas linebacker said he planned on being at a few US Army Bowl practices before the annual recruiting All-Star game on Monday and will cheer on future teammates Devontae, Deontae Armstrong and Damarion Witten. With Dallas less than an hour from his hometown, he’ll also be at Ohio State’s Cotton Bowl practices and attend the Buckeyes’ game against Missouri.
Earlier this year, Pierce was selected to play in NBC’s annual All-American Bowl in San Antonio on Jan. 6. While he won’t be able to participate in the contest due to his injury, Pierce still plans on attending the festivities in San Antonio. He plans on leaving for Columbus with fellow linebacker commit Garrett Stover following the game.
“We talk weekly,” Pierce said of him and Stover. “I was talking to him a couple of days ago about my ankle and stuff. I think we’re flying out together from the All-American Bowl to campus to get our dorms set and everything. We’ve been talking about that a lot.”
Once he arrives on campus, Pierce will have a long recovery ahead of him. But he’s still anticipating the first moment he takes the practice field at Ohio State.
“I’m going to go in there and go compete right when I get back,” Pierce said. “Cody (Simon) is a great guy to learn from. I hit it off with him on my official visit, I really like him a lot. He’ll be good to learn from and having all these guys in the room makes me a better linebacker. When I get back, I’ll be ready to compete with them.”
