Last season, the Ohio State football program started a new tradition. They started having people come in to ring the Victory Bell before games. Prior to that, the Buckeyes would ring it after wins at the Shoe. It was a change that Ross Bjork wanted to add for a new era of college football.
Bjork also decided to stop playing Hang On Sloopy right as the fourth quarter started, so that wasn't a popular move, either. The Victory Bell tradition has been much more widely received by fans. Several high-profile Ohio State Buckeyes have been given that honor.
Heading into this season, the Buckeyes haven't given any indication of who might be ringing the Victory Bell for games this season. However, Ryan Day let it slip that one special guest will be ringing the bell against Illinois, and that guest resides on his coaching staff.
Ohio State football legend James Laurinaitis will ring the Victory Bell against Illinois
According to a speech from Day, Laurinaitis will be ringing the Victory Bell before a game against Illinois on September 26th. That means that he becomes the first member of the current coaching staff to ring the bell. It's an honor for him to be able to do it.
Laurinaitis will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, which is why Laurinaitis gets the honor. He is one of the best Ohio State football players in history. In his tenure, he was a three-time All-American and played for two national championships when he was with the Buckeyes.
This is certainly another thing that he can use when it comes to recruiting. If he wants to bring in some high-level linebacker recruits, he can just point back to this honor. Laurinaitis certainly knows how to play the linebacker position, and he is quickly rising inside the coaching staff.
James Laurinaitis is on a great trajectory when it comes to his coaching career
Laurinaitis has already started rising within the coaching ranks at the Woody. He has proven that he can recruit at an elite level. Last year, he helped develop two top-10 picks last season. It's pretty clear that Ryan Day would love if Laurinaitis keeps showing that he can coach at a high level.
There's a good chance that Laurinaitis eventually becomes the defensive coordinator in Columbus. If Matt Patricia ever decides he wants to either go back to the NFL or take a head coaching gig in college, Laurinaitis would be an excellent choice to replace him as defensive coordinator.
As far as the recruiting trail is concerned, Ohio State finally got a commitment over the weekend. That should give them some momentum to help them land more recruits over the course of the month. Right now, Ohio State has 14 commits for the 2027 recruiting class.
By the time the month is over, they will likely have at least 16 recruits in the class. There's a chance that they have closer to 20 commits when the month of July starts.
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