Ohio State Football: Buckeyes hire new coach but familiar face
The Ohio State football team welcomes back James Laurinaitis back to Columbus following a year in South Bend coaching linebackers.
The Ohio State football team will have a familiar face on the sidelines next season as former Buckeye great and new grad assistant James Laurinaitis is back wearing the Scarlet and Gray. Laurinaitis, who helped coach linebackers for Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame last season, will be assisting Jim Knowles in the linebackers’ room for Ohio State.
Head coach Ryan Day confirmed the news yesterday, saying this via Eleven Warriors:
"“James is a terrific young man with wisdom as a Buckeye and experience as an eight-year NFL veteran. He is going to be a very important part of our program going forward.”"
The former three-time All-American while at Ohio State will provide to be a valuable resource for this Buckeye football program. Much like Brian Hartline on the offensive side of the ball, there’s a certain aspect of being a former Ohio State player that will appeal to Laurinaitis’ new players. He’s been there before and has played at an extremely high level. He should no doubt be able to help and develop this talented linebacker room.
In addition to his historic run while playing at Ohio State, Laurinaitis had a fantastic NFL career where he helped captain the Rams defense and led the NFL in tackles in 2012. Following his playing career, Laurinaitis was able to be heard locally on 97.1 The Fan in Columbus with Beau Bishop and on the Big Ten Network as an analyst.
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Laurinaitis should be a great hire for Ryan Day. There’s even been talk that the NCAA will disband its 10 coaches’ rule that only allows 10 full-time coaches at programs. If they do that then we can really see what Laurinaitis can do on the recruiting trail. Either way, this hire will surely help Ohio State and I can’t wait to see how Laurinaitis’ career unfolds as a coach.