Palaie Gaoteote IV isn’t playing the role he envisioned he would have in Ohio State’s defense this season, but he’s still trying to make as big of an impact for the Buckeyes as he can.
Through the first nine games of the 2022 season, Gaoteote has played only 28 snaps. New defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Jim Knowles has leaned almost entirely on his starters in his position group, and as a result, Gaoteote has seen only occasional defensive snaps despite currently being fourth in the linebacker pecking order behind Tommy Eichenberg, Steele Chambers and Cody Simon.
In his first interview session of the season Wednesday, Gaoteote acknowledged he isn’t playing as much as he thought he would be. But he says he’s trying to take advantage of the snaps he is getting and do what he can to help the team win.
“It's definitely been different, but it's definitely a role that I've embraced,” Gaoteote said. “Coming into the season, I expected a lot of things and things didn't happen that way. So the role that I have right now, I plan to play to the best of my ability and just help the team any way I can.”
For the most part, Gaoteote’s role this season has been playing on special teams, where he has played 86 snaps between the kickoff coverage, kickoff return and punt return teams. Gaoteote has received acclaim for his performance in that phase of the game, earning special teams player of the game honors after both of Ohio State’s first two contests of the year against Notre Dame and Arkansas State.
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Gaoteote played on defense in only two of Ohio State’s first seven games, in part because he started the season as the Buckeyes’ No. 5 linebacker before Chip Trayanum moved to running back. In each of the past two games, though, Gaoteote has played four snaps with the first-team defense as an outside linebacker in four-linebacker packages, which the Buckeyes have used to match up with bigger offensive personnel in short-yardage situations.
From that role, Gaoteote helped Ohio State make a key 4th-and-1 run stop with the score tied early in the third quarter at Northwestern this past weekend when he bulled back a Wildcats tight end on the left side of the line, leading to Evan Hull being stuffed for no gain.
Gaoteote, the Buckeyes’ biggest linebacker at 245 pounds, has recorded four tackles this season between defense and special teams and actually leads Ohio State with two fumble recoveries despite his limited snaps. He takes pride in doing his job well when he is on the field, and he believes the role he is playing fit his skill set.
“When you're running down on kickoff, you're expected to avoid contact and create contact. When you play in like heavier packages that we have, you're expected to just kind of dominate and win in the circumstances that you're in,” Gaoteote said. “So definitely just embracing the toughness of the roles that I'm playing right now is definitely the biggest part.”
When Gaoteote initially transferred to Ohio State from USC a year ago, he was expected to play a major role in the Buckeyes’ 2021 defense. That never came to fruition. Gaoteote battled an eligibility issue that wasn’t resolved until after the season started, then missed time with injuries during the season and ended up playing only 78 total defensive snaps.
The five-star recruit who started 14 games in three years at USC entered this year with the belief that a full offseason at Ohio State would allow him to earn a bigger role in 2022, but Eichenberg and Chambers solidified themselves as the Buckeyes’ top linebackers with Simon serving as the next man up behind them and the third linebacker in three-linebacker sets. Gaoteote also took reps at the Jack position leading up to the season, but that role when utilized has been filled by defensive ends Jack Sawyer and Javontae Jean-Baptiste.
Gaoteote’s only snaps in the base defense this year have come in the fourth quarter of blowout wins over Toledo and Iowa, though Knowles indicated this week that Gaoteote could see some more snaps down the stretch of the season.
“I want to start to bring him along in the two-linebacker situations so it's not just Tommy and Steele but it could be Cody and IE,” Knowles said.
Even though a big role on Ohio State’s defense hasn’t materialized yet in Gaotoete’s two years as a Buckeye, he says he is a better football player now than he was when he arrived in June 2021.
“I’ve definitely grown a lot,” Gaoteote said. “A lot more maturing and realizing habits. Habits are a big thing when you're trying to get to the league and having a professional mindset. So definitely being here for two years, I definitely understand that.”
Despite his lack of playing time so far as a Buckeye, Gaoteote is still striving to play in the NFL and believes his time at Ohio State has helped prepare him for the possibility of playing at that level.
“I think it starts at practice. Coach talks about habits, talks about perfecting your craft and just being tough. And when it comes to trying to get into the league, trying to hone those in college so that when I get those opportunities, when my foot is in the door, I can hopefully expand on that and get to my dreams,” Gaoteote said.
Although he is a fifth-year senior, Gaoteote could still potentially play another year of college football. Because he played in only two games at USC in 2020, that season should count as a redshirt year for Gaoteote, allowing him to still use the extra year of eligibility all players were given in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gaotoete said he is still working with Ohio State’s compliance department, however, to sort through his eligibility for 2023.
Even if he is able to play another year of college football, Gaotoete isn’t certain whether he would return to Ohio State for a third season. How much of a chance Gaoteote would have to earn a bigger role on Ohio State’s 2023 defense would likely depend on whether Eichenberg and Chambers stay for another year or enter the 2023 NFL draft.
Those decisions, however, will be made after Ohio State’s 2022 season is over. For now, Gaoteote is focused on playing for the Buckeyes and trying to help the team achieve its goals.
“I've definitely been thinking about what I'm gonna do next year,” Gaoteote said. “But as for now, I really don't have a plan. I'm focused on our goals of beating the team up north, getting to the Big Ten championship and hopefully win the national championship.”
