Ohio State came into the season knowing linebacker would be the toughest spot to replace, and the Buckeyes have answered that challenge with a different look than last year. Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles, both top-10 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, are gone, but the room has not been asked to find one-for-one replacements in the old mold. Instead, defensive coordinator Matt Patricia has leaned into a four-man rotation that has given the defense more variety through three games.
That approach has changed the feel of the unit. Reese and Styles handled every-down workloads a year ago, but this group is spreading the load across Christian Alliegro, Payton Pierce, Riley Pettijohn and Tarvos Alford. The result is a linebacker room that is not defined by one star taking every snap, but by different players bringing different strengths to the same defense.
“They do some things all together the same, but then also things they do really well [that are] unique to them,” head coach Ryan Day said in a press conference on Sep. 23.
Alliegro, the Wisconsin transfer brought in during the offseason, came in with the most experience and has made his presence felt against the run. He has shown he can work through blocks, play off the edge and make plays in the backfield. Pierce, who was expected to start alongside him, has brought a different edge with his feel for the football and his ability to punch it loose in the run game.
Pettijohn and Alford have given the Buckeyes more athleticism in the box. Pettijohn has flashed speed when attacking downhill and has already produced a timely negative play, including a sack against Arch Manning in Ohio State’s eventual 24-23 loss to Texas. Alford, meanwhile, has played with a relentless motor and has shown up around the ball, including his interception against Ball State in Week 1.
With that kind of depth, Day said the amount of playing time across the group has not come as a surprise.
“I’m not surprised that all those guys are playing,” Day said, “They’re good football players.”
Patricia has also liked what the group is bringing beyond the obvious tackles and stops. The communication has started to sharpen, and the leadership in the room is becoming more visible as the linebackers help organize the defense and relay information to the rest of the team. That kind of growth was something he wanted to see develop through September.
“The guys that were in those roles to start are getting more confident,” Patricia said, “Some of the timing of [the defense] is starting to improve, which is what you usually find out in the month of September.”
Now the real test begins. Ohio State opens Big Ten play Saturday against Illinois, and that matchup will offer the first clear sign of whether this four-man setup stays the norm or whether one linebacker starts to separate from the pack as the schedule gets tougher.
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For Ohio State fans, the contrast lands cleanly. Ryan Day has made his own standard public and unmistakable, setting a much higher bar for the Buckeyes than simply stacking victories and keeping people content. So while Cignetti was managing the temperature in Bloomington, his comments served as a useful backdrop for what Ohio State expects of itself, and why the conversation in Columbus usually starts where other programs hope to finish. [Read more 🡒]