A typical day for freshman linebacker Riley Pettijohn this spring isn’t for the faint of heart.
The No. 2-rated linebacker in the 2025 recruiting class, Pettijohn often starts his day by waking up early and strolling to Ohio State’s practice facility, the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
He starts by watching practice film from the previous day, making notes of where he thrived and what he needs to refine going forward. Then he’ll either have practice, or if it’s an off day, he’ll lift weights. When he completes those, he’ll have meetings with Ohio State’s coaching staff, primarily linebackers coach James Laurinaitis, who will offer his input on Pettijohn’s play so far.
“Riley Pettijohn, he has a great feel for the game,” Laurinaitis said. “The burst is there … Any time you have freshmen on the field, you get these lumps of clay you’re excited to form a little bit. The most important thing with young players is that you’re learning a lot.”
And of course, he’s also a student-athlete, so following his football obligations, he heads to the classroom. He’ll end his night with some film study, part two.
“I want to know what I did wrong, what I can improve on and help me learn new installs,” Pettijohn said of what he watches during film.
That may seem like a lot for someone who’s just finished his third month on campus, but Pettijohn came to Ohio State with lofty expectations as a top-45 recruit in the nation, and he has lofty goals for himself in his freshman year.
“Just getting on the field and making plays,” Pettijohn said of what he hopes to accomplish in year one. “I feel like that’s a good expectation for me.”
The McKinney, Texas product has already put in plenty of work this offseason before spring football started, going from 215 pounds in January to 227 pounds at the start of spring football. He has three more pounds to gain before he reaches his target playing weight.
Pettijohn hasn’t let his weight gain alter his speed, which is one of his strongest assets on the football field.
“I think I can do a little bit of everything,” Pettijohn said of his on-field game. “I can cover, I can rush the passer, I can play the run, too. I think those are all my strengths. But I think my speed plays a factor.”
While speed is Pettijohn’s best assest, he’s also in awe of how fast the talent is around him, saying that’s the biggest adjustment at this level compared to his senior season where he recorded 136 total tackles and 5.5 sacks for McKinney High School.
“Most eye-opening thing is just the game speed,” Pettijohn said of the biggest difference from high school to college. “I know I gotta stay on that film, so everything is slowed down for me now, but that’s really just the most eye-opening thing. Right now it’s moving pretty fast for me, but I know it’s gonna slow down pretty soon here.”
Though Pettijohn has aspirations of seeing snaps in year one, he has plenty of competition at Mike. Arvell Reese is projected to be the successor to Cody Simon to start the year, and Laurinaitis lauded the progress sophomore linebacker Payton Pierce has made so far this spring. Still, Pettijohn is just focused on improving himself.
“It’s a responsibility, getting everybody lined up, getting the call,” he said of playing Mike. “Knowing my assignment, I did it in high school, but it’s just upscaled a little more, so it’s going to take some getting used to. But I know I’m ready.”
In the meantime, Pettijohn said he’s leaning on Reese and Sonny Styles for advice when he needs it, seeing as they helped lead Ohio State to a national championship last season.
“They know what to do and know everything it takes,” Pettijohn said. “Just looking up to them, doing what they do, it’s definitely going to be good for me.”
