The Ohio State Buckeyes will be down two stud linebackers on day one of the 2026 NFL draft when Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles hear their names from Roger Goodell and figure out where they'll spend the first few years, at least, of their pro careers.
As Cleveland.com's Stefan Krajisnik notes, Reese and Styles are the continuation of a defensive reputation that has persisted since Ryan Day became the head coach, no matter who he's delegated defensive leadership to.
Krajisnik also asked an important question that doesn't seem to have a clear answer: who in the team's current room, between Wisconsin Badgers transfer Christian Alliegro, Payton Pierce, Riley Pettijohn, and TJ Alford, can fill those shoes?
Can any of them?
"Between Malik Harrison, Pete Werner, Baron Browning, Tommy Eichenberg, and Cody Simon, Ohio State has regularly had linebackers drafted since Day stepped in as head coach in 2019," Krajisnik prefaced before saying, "Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles could become the pinnacle of that trend, as likely top 15 picks in April."
"They’ll also field questions about the future of the room, giving us intel about the next great linebackers in Columbus. Ohio State added former Wisconsin linebacker Christian Alliegro to its roster this offseason while retaining Payton Pierce, Riley Pettijohn, and TJ Alford. Pierce is the most experienced of the returning linebackers, but Pettijohn and Alford were former four-star prospects with untapped potential."
Ohio State may have 'peaked' at LB with Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles
Maybe...it won't get better for the Buckeyes at the linebacker position.
Ohio State had two potentially generational LBs in Reese and Styles, who won a title and then somehow got even better under a new defensive coordinator, albeit one in Matt Patricia who's used to scheming for elite talent from his days in the NFL.
Cleveland.com's Andrew Gillis and Stephen Means don't sound optimistic that such a level of play will continue. Gillis suggested that Reese and Styles were the peak for the position, and LB coach James Laurinaitis and Co. shouldn't expect to be that good again -- even if being almost as good is possible.
“I think this is more the peak rather than the start. But like I don’t know... You’ve got two top-half of the first round level players. One of them might go like top five, and then the other one is probably going to go like top 16," Gillis said.
“And the thing with a peak is that it doesn’t have to be like you start at the bottom up up up up peak down down down. You could, I don’t know. You could still see the peak from 10 ft lower.”
Even if the position has peaked, a 12-team CFP world means the Buckeyes can be worse than last year's perfect regular season team and still achieve more come playoff time.
If any of Alliegro, Pierce, Pettijohn, or Alford came up with a Jack Sawyer-esque game-sealing play in a playoff game during a title run, Ohio State fans would feel like they're at their peak, even if none of the LBs end up as first-round NFL draft picks.
That would ultimately feel better than being able to say you have two of the best linebackers in history while also losing the two biggest games of the season.
Of course, this conversation is different if there are no great linebackers or a title. Oddsmakers seem confident OSU can overcome the talent disparity from last year's LB room to this one, though.