Ohio State's defense has been the best in the country by a large margin for almost the entire 2025 college football season. A lot of the credit goes to what defensive coordinator Matt Patricia has done, who has completely taken over this unit and made it into something special.
Of course, the players are the ones out on the field doing the work, but Patricia certainly can't be forgotten in all of this. One of the best players doing so well in Patricia's system is linebacker Arvell Reese, who not only is getting national attention, but some attention from NFL teams as well.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is also taking notice of all that Reese has done, making sure to give his guy a big shoutout for all the work he has put into his game.
Ryan Day has never seen a player quite like Arvell Reese
Ryan Day said he's never coached a player with the athleticism, talent and versatility of Arvell Reese, though Sonny Styles comes close. "Both of those guys have that ability and versatility." pic.twitter.com/HDUPXtIHWL
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 11, 2025
In his press conference on Monday, previewing the Buckeyes' game against UCLA, head coach Ryan Day spoke about a lot of his players, one being linebacker Arvell Reese. The Cleveland, Ohio native certainly has impressed this season with 55 total tackles, 29 solo tackles, two passes defended, and an outstanding 6.5 sacks.
Day knows the type of player he has in Reese and also knows he has never quite seen someone this Reese in his coaching career, which is saying a lot as Day has coached a lot of guys at a very high level.
"I'm trying to think if there has been somebody that I've been around that has that type of a skill set as talented as Arvell," Day said. "Probably not."
Not only did Day give that high praise to Reese, but to fellow linebacker Sonny Styles, who has partnered with Reese all season long to keep the second phase on lockdown for the Buckeyes.