Despite losing its captain, Block ‘O’ wearer and defensive quarterback Cody Simon from 2024’s national championship squad, Ohio State enters 2025 with a great outlook at linebacker.
Senior Sonny Styles is in line to be the second-biggest star on the Buckeyes’ defense behind safety Caleb Downs. Junior Arvell Reese has a wealth of experience from playing in 4-3 packages last year. They are surrounded by a mix of fantastic young talent and a sage veteran from the transfer portal thanks to the recruiting efforts of James Laurinaitis.
While acclimating to an adjusted defensive scheme under new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, Ohio State should have a linebacking corps it can rely on that also possesses great upside with the further development of some pieces.
In Line to Start: Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese
Styles was the most improved player on Ohio State’s defense by the end of last season, closing his campaign with 100 tackles, second on the team to only Simon. He also had 11 tackles for loss, six sacks, five pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery after a few rough patches early in the year.
Growing pains were to be expected from Styles, who played his first two seasons as a Buckeye at the safety position. His move to linebacker occurred in the spring of 2024. After a two-sack, two-PBU performance at Northwestern, Styles was a consistent star for the Silver Bullets and racked up nine tackles with three TFLs and a sack in the Buckeyes’ 28-14 Cotton Bowl win over Texas in the CFP semifinals.
“I know Sonny has big goals and he should,” Laurinaitis said on Friday. “I do as well for him, and to see how far he's come – first thing kind of stands out is his footwork has gotten so much better. When you're in the box as a linebacker, you gotta be able to remember, Luke Fickell used to say it all the time, ‘You gotta be slow until it's time to be fast.’ When you're twitchy like he is, a lot of times when you're at safety, you're used to pulling the trigger and rolling. You gotta learn how to shuffle and not cross over. And he got so much better as the year went on.”
Styles grew as a leader throughout the campaign, too. Simon thinks the Pickerington native should take up his mantle as the Buckeyes’ Block ‘O’ jersey recipient.
“I mean, I don't want to give away or I don't know anything about who, but I mean, if I were to choose, I would probably say Sonny Styles,” Simon said last week at the NFL Scouting Combine. “He's putting the work in. He's done everything you need to do. And he's gonna be a leader for that team next year. And I hope they look to him for guidance. Because he's done it before, he's been a high-level player.”
Last year’s Ohio State defense had Styles at Will linebacker, which is likely to be his spot in 2025, though he made one start at Mike to open the 2024 campaign and Laurinaitis said he’s perfectly capable of playing that position, too. But the heir apparent to Simon there is Reese.
SPRING POSITION PREVIEWS
Reese overtook then-junior C.J. Hicks as a sophomore on the Buckeyes’ depth chart in 2024 and showcased why in his brief rotation work and utilization in 4-3 packages. He played 307 defensive snaps last year, which trailed only Styles and Simon at linebacker, and flashed his fast-twitch athleticism with 43 tackles and four TFLs.
“I think we just have a lot of guys with a lot of length. You talk about Sonny Styles, long, can run. Arvell Reese, long, can run,” Laurinaitis said. “Like, it's crazy because you see Sonny and you're like, ‘OK, this guy, I wish I was built like that when I played.’ And then you see Arvell stand next to Sonny. You're like, ‘Heck.’”
If Reese pays off those flashes with consistent production in his first season as a starter, the Buckeyes’ linebacker tandem will be among the nation’s elite as it was at the end of 2024.
The Depth
Beyond Styles and Reese, the only other upperclassman Ohio State linebacker – Hicks is now on the edge – is redshirt junior and Duquesne transfer Ty Howard. But as spring begins, it seems the No. 3 man on Laurinaitis’ depth chart is sophomore Payton Pierce. He was always the third name out of the mouth of the linebackers coach on Friday when he started listing options to play a role.
"I think going into (the spring), I think it's Sonny, Arvell, Payton’s right up there in that mix," Laurinaitis said. "And then it's like, who else is going to emerge for really the fourth guy? I think that's a healthy way to put it."
Pierce’s development was delayed a touch after he suffered a season-ending leg injury in his senior year of high school that caused him to miss spring practice as a freshman, but his talent is clear. A four-star prospect ranked 204th overall in the recruiting class of 2024, he had an incredible 181 tackles his senior year playing for Lovejoy High School in Lucas, Texas.
Fellow four-star 2024 prospect Garrett Stover, cousin of former Ohio State tight end Cade Stover, will be among the challengers for that No. 4 spot Laurinaitis mentioned this spring. All three of Ohio State’s 2025 linebacker signees will participate in spring practice as midyear enrollees, with four-stars Riley Pettijohn and Tarvos Alford possessing the capability to make a climb early in their careers.
Freshman to Watch: Riley Pettijohn
Pettijohn was a massive land for Laurinaitis in his first season as a full-fledged position coach. The No. 2 linebacker and No. 42 overall prospect in the class of 2025, he recorded 136 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, 15 quarterback hurries, three pass deflections, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a blocked field goal in his senior season playing Class 6A Texas football.
His athletic gifts are well-documented in track and field, where he recorded a 100-meter dash time of 10.77 seconds and a high jump of 5-foot-10. Like a few other prospects in his class – five-star cornerback Devin Sanchez, especially – Pettijohn could be too good to keep off the field in year one.
