Ohio State’s offseason overhaul in the secondary has already produced one of the program’s most intriguing new faces, and Earl Little Jr. is landing right near the top of the conversation.
The former Florida State safety checks in at No. 12 in the Buckeye 20, Eleven Warriors’ preseason ranking of Ohio State’s top 20 players for 2026. It’s a strong placement for a transfer who arrived in Columbus with real buzz, and it reflects how quickly Little has made himself visible in practices and in the staff’s plans for the fall.
At 6-foot and 203 pounds, Little brings the kind of versatility that coaches can plug in almost anywhere. He is expected to start as one of Ohio State’s two deep safeties in Matt Patricia’s defense, likely alongside Jaylen McClain, but his role won’t stop there. The Buckeyes also plan to use him closer to the line of scrimmage, and he could slide into nickel responsibilities in three-safety looks as well.
That flexibility fits what he showed at Florida State, where he earned second-team All-ACC honors last season. Little played all over the field for the Seminoles and backed it up with production: four interceptions, two forced fumbles and a team-high 76 tackles. He was around the ball constantly, and that same energy has carried into his first spring in Columbus.
Ryan Day said this spring that Little “jumped off the screen right out the gate,” and that sort of early praise has followed him throughout the offseason. The safety has built a reputation as a punishing hitter who wants to set the tone, but he’s more than just a thumper. He has a knack for making plays on the ball and turning defense into turnovers, which is exactly why Ohio State sees him as such an important piece.
The Buckeyes also added Terry Moore, another All-ACC transfer safety, but the expectation remains that Little will be a fixture in the back end. With Caleb Downs gone, Jaylen McClain is projected to be Ohio State’s top safety, yet Little is being counted on to help absorb plenty of that lost production.
His value goes beyond the deep half of the field, too. He can work near the line, handle slot receivers, and give the defense another physical chess piece.
That’s a big responsibility, but the Buckeyes seem convinced he’s ready for it. The coaching staff has liked what it has seen all offseason, and Matt Guerrieri’s group believes it can still field one of the nation’s best safety tandems in 2026.
The Caleb Downs comparisons are already starting, and Brandon Inniss didn’t shy away from that line of thought.
“He’s probably gonna remind y’all a lot of Caleb, honestly. The way he plays, flying downhill, making plays all over the field, just play after play after play, you see No. 1 on film, it's like ‘Dang, he made that play?’”
For Ohio State, that’s the kind of reputation that can carry real weight. Little hasn’t played a snap for the Buckeyes yet, but the staff, his teammates and the ranking all point to the same idea: he’s not just part of the plan in 2026. He’s central to it.
In Other News...
Ohio State's Stacked 2026 Roster Is Already Turning Heads Nationally
Ohio State is already drawing national attention before the 2026 season even gets going, and the reason is obvious: the Buckeyes are packed with players showing up on preseason honor lists across the sport. Jeremiah Smith and Julian Sayin are among the names landing on preseason All-American teams and watch lists from major outlets and awards groups, while the program keeps popping up in the kind of early buzz that usually signals a roster with real postseason expectations.
The reach goes beyond the headline names, too. Ohio State had a large contingent selected to the Shriners Children's East-West Bowl 1000 and the Senior Bowl 300, a reminder of how many Buckeyes are already being viewed as future pros. The bigger question now is how all of that individual recognition will translate once the season starts and the targets on this roster begin to matter more than the preseason applause. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Day Just Put Fresh Eyes On One Ohio State Freshman
Freshman receiver Brock Boyd has kept himself in the conversation at Ohio State, and Ryan Day made it clear in a recent press conference that the staff expects him to get on the field in 2026. Day pointed to Boyds spring and fall camp work as a reason for the optimism, noting the young receiver has shown versatility and steady progress in practice.
The bigger picture for the Buckeyes is a receiver room that looks deeper than it did a year ago, which means there may be room for as many as six wideouts to see the field. For Boyd, the opportunity is there, but the exact role still has to sort itself out as the season approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Nick Sabans Ohio State Story Is Hard For Buckeyes Fans To Ignore
Before he became the face of a college football dynasty, Nick Saban had an Ohio State chapter that is easy to overlook now. He started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Kent State, worked his way through a string of assistant jobs, and landed in Columbus as Earle Bruces defensive backs coach from 1980 to 1981. For Buckeyes fans, it is one of those footnote connections that looks a lot bigger in hindsight, especially given the career that followed.
Sabans Ohio State run ended after the 1981 Liberty Bowl amid a reported disagreement in philosophy, but the split did not slow his climb. He went on to assistant stops at Navy, Michigan State and Toledo, along with NFL work, before becoming a head coach at Michigan State, LSU and Alabama. The rest of the story is familiar enough by now, with seven national championships in the background, which makes that brief, messy Columbus stop all the harder for Ohio State supporters to ignore. [Read more 🡒]