Quick Hits: James Laurinaitis Says All of Ohio State's Linebackers Are “Flashing” and Calls Arvell Reese a “Special Talent”

Laurinaitis beamed on Thursday when meeting with reporters, saying that all of his linebackers have been flashing so far this spring. He eventually delved into specifics on individual players, noting that Arvell Reese is a "special talent." 

Plenty of linebackers were available for interviews following practice at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Thursday, including Reese, Sonny Styles, Garrett Stover, Riley Pettijohn, TJ Alford, Payton Pierce and Eli Lee.

We gathered video of each of our interview sessions as well as the best quotes and most notable comments from their conversations.

James Laurinaitis

“They’re all flashing. I love their attitudes, their demeanors. When you have leaders like Sonny and Arvell… and Payton and Stove, those guys are all like a brotherhood. We call it the ‘backerhood.’ The backerhood in that linebacker room is special.”– James Laurinaitis on Ohio State’s linebackers

• On what makes Sonny Styles a great player and leader: “It’s the way Sonny goes about it. He’s the ultimate pro. He’s been that way. His mom and his dad have done a great job raising him and (his brother) Lorenzo.” Laurinaitis said he’s been “secretly pounding my fist on the table” for Styles to play linebacker since he joined Ohio State’s coaching staff in 2023. He also called Styles a leader of not only the linebacker room but the entire team.
• On Arvell Reese: “Arvell is so talented. Like so talented. His ability to move around and position flex makes him all the more valuable. I think what we’re doing is we’re realizing everything Arvell Reese can do, and it’s a lot. … He’s a special talent.”
• Laurinaitis called Payton Pierce a “throwback” linebacker who has noticeable aggressiveness and toughness in the box. “Payton is awesome. Payton is awesome. Tough and just an absolute natural,” Laurinaitis added that he expects Pierce “to have a lot of playing time” this year along with Styles and Reese.

Sonny Styles

“I think we’ve got a lot of good leaders on this team, but I think I started to carry myself the right way, the way I was raised. I feel like I’ve been playing the position longer than a year, so that’s a good thing. I’m just trying to get better each and every day.”– Sonny Styles on being the elder statesman of the linebacker room

• Styles said he tries to be both a vocal leader and one that leads by example, saying he likes to put his arm around guys and ask how they’re doing because former OSU veterans did the same thing for him when he was younger.
• Styles said one of the main ingredients for a championship team is the connection each player has with each other.
• Styles said it’s been “great” learning from Matt Patricia and that Styles is embracing rebuilding Ohio State’s defense after so many starters departed for the NFL Draft.

Payton Pierce

“I've learned so much football in these past two weeks, more than I've learned in my whole lifetime. So it's been great having him and he's a good coach.”– Payton Pierce on new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia

• On his approach this spring: “Just trying to be the best I can every day and compete with the guys we got in the room and just keep getting better every day. I mean, it's been a heck of a two weeks we've had. It's been real competitive and I'm having so much fun. Football is great.”
• On how his wrestling background has helped his football career: “It's such an unforgiving sport. I won all my high school matches, won every match and lost my last one. So that just shows the mentality of it. If you ever let up – it's so easy to slip up in that sport. And I think it just shows (that) it builds a mentality in you. And it touches you differently when you grow up wrestling and stuff. So I wouldn't even say just the physical stuff, but just the mental stuff every day.”
• Pierce said he’s packed on 10 to 12 pounds of muscle this offseason and feels “a lot faster.”
• Pierce has no positional preference. “I’ll play whatever coach wants me to play.”

Arvell Reese

“I think Sonny is a great leader. I feel like he’s got the voice. You can be thinking about something and then Sonny just can lay it out for the whole team. Sonny is definitely a great leader before anything.”– Arvell Reese on the most impressive thing about Sonny Styles

• Considering he played more than 300 snaps as Ohio State’s third linebacker last season, Reese said that helped his confidence grow and he hopes to make more of an impact in 2025.
• Reese says he and Sonny Styles communicate a lot pre-snap with what they see from opposing offenses.
• Although replacing Cody Simon’s leadership role are big shoes to fill, Reese says he has a different style than Simon and plans to be himself, which is the best possible way to lead.

Garrett Stover

“Just knowing how everything runs in the building, knowing how practice runs and the speed of the game, I think that’s all developed me into a better player.”– Garrett Stover on why he feels like last year prepared him for this season

• When he came into spring football in 2024, Stover admitted he was “undersized” at about 205 pounds, but he’s moved up to around 220 pounds and says he feels much stronger than he did a year ago.
• Stover says working with Matt Patricia has been productive so far and called him “a really good guy and a really good coach.” He added he’s excited to learn more from him.
• Stover said his cousin, former Ohio State tight end Cade Stover, has been a good sounding board for him whenever he has questions.

Riley Pettijohn

• On being coached by Laurinaitis: “He's energetic. He's always pushing us to be our best. And anything we do, he's been through all of this.”
• Pettijohn said the difference in “game speed” from the high school to college games has been the most eye-opening thing about his transition from the prep level.
• Pettijohn confirmed that he’s playing Mike linebacker for now.
• On how playing Mike can speed up his development: “I think it's gonna be good, being able to roam around and just take a charge. I'm definitely used to that and comfortable with that. So I feel like it's gonna be good for me in the fall.”

TJ Alford

“Arm length, sideline-to-sideline speed and my covering.”– TJ Alford on what makes him special at the linebacker position

• Alford said he and James Laurinaitis have developed a great relationship over the years. He said Laurinaitis is one of the biggest reasons he chose to become a Buckeye. “He did it big-time here.”
• Alford said he learned a lot from Ohio State’s national championship team. As one of the midyear enrollees who traveled with the team to the Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl and the national championship game, Alford said he learned that “every rep matters” and can make the difference between a team winning or losing a title.
• On his goals for his freshman season: “Just getting some playing time, showing what I can do on the field in games and things like that, but that starts in practice.” Alford said his coaches have emphasized that he can make an impact on special teams as a freshman. “They emphasize that a lot. They say to play at Ohio State, you have to first play on special teams.”

Eli Lee

“I can't really learn from anyone better. He's been through it all, done it at the highest level, been great.”– Eli Lee on playing under James Laurinaitis

• Lee hasn’t felt too overwhelmed by the transition from high school to college ball. “My head hasn’t been spinning too, too much. I'm kind of focusing in on the football part of it, just trying to do as much as I can, work as hard as I can.”
• On his relationships with his fellow freshmen: “We're all cool, not anything weird or anything. But I mean we're all competing at the same time. Iron sharpens iron, that's how the linebacker room is.”
• On Styles: “He runs the whole defense, he's in every spot exactly where he needs to be, he leads. That's just how I want to replicate my game.”