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<\/p>\nWhen James Laurinaitis isn\u2019t at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, he can be found jogging around Ohio State\u2019s campus.<\/p>\n
He runs from the Woody around campus to Ohio Stadium, but he often stops at Buckeye Grove. Sometimes he needs a rest; other times, he just likes to stroll along the historic Columbus walkway.<\/p>\n
As the Minnesota native walks through, he can see legendary names like two-time All-American Jack Tatum, 1995 unanimous All-American Eddie George, and so many others who have earned a Buckeye Tree as First-Team All-Americans.<\/p>\n
Then he stops at his tree. The three-time All-American is flanked by 2006 All-Americans Troy Smith and Quinn Pitcock. If it\u2019s summer or early fall, when the trees produce nuts, he likes to grab a few and give them to his kids when he gets home.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a safe haven for Laurinaitis, now the linebackers coach for the Buckeyes. But going to Buckeye Grove isn\u2019t necessarily about his accomplishments; it\u2019s about remembering the pride of being at Ohio State.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe traditions here are unmatched, but the excellence is, I think, in whatever you do at this school is what sets you apart,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I think of Ohio State, having been here, and obviously been associated with it since 2005, it\u2019s like, you just understand that if you\u2019re going to be part of this university, you\u2019re expected to bring excellence.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s that pride that drives Laurinaitis as he prepares for a third season as linebackers coach, maybe even more than the playing days that helped him earn that tree.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a coach, I almost have more angst about it, because I want to make sure that the guys out there are representing the standard,\u201d Laurinaitis said. \u201cI knew I could uphold that standard as a player. And now it\u2019s on you to get it out of the guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n Every First-Team All-American in Ohio State football history gets his own tree in Buckeye Grove. (Courtney Hergesheimer \/ USA Today Network via Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
Those days helped shape Laurinaitis as he establishes himself as one of the top young coaches in the sport.<\/p>\n
He won a national championship in his first year, was announced as a College Football Hall of Fame inductee in January, and just three weeks ago watched his two starting linebackers, Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese, be picked in the top 10 of the 2026 NFL Draft, a feat no other coach has accomplished.<\/p>\n
With the responsibility of coaching at Ohio State, Laurinaitis hasn\u2019t had time to think about it.<\/p>\n
But Ryan Day has.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel that James is the best linebackers coach in the country,\u201d Day said.<\/p>\n
When Laurinaitis took the job, he had a goal to turn the linebacker room into what former Buckeyes assistant and now South Florida head coach Brian Hartline built with the receivers. Ohio State has had a first-round pick at receiver in each of the last five seasons.<\/p>\n
The first step in doing that, though, is to recruit elite talent. Laurinaitis didn\u2019t wait to make a good impression on recruits, either.<\/p>\n
After he got the full-time job, Laurinaitis took a trip to Olentangy High School, just 25 minutes from campus, to meet with four-star C.J. Sanna and his coach, Wade Bartholomew.<\/p>\n
He sat with Sanna for 45 minutes, and the two hit it off. When Bartholomew returned to the room after walking Laurinaitis out, Sanna just smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018That\u2019s where you\u2019re going to go?\u2019 We both knew, like, we both knew immediately,\u201d Bartholomew said. \u201cHe knew that\u2019s the guy that you want to be coached by.\u201d<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t just the Ohio State brand that stood out to Sanna, nor was it the presence of one of the program\u2019s best linebackers.<\/p>\n
During their meeting, Laurinaitis was up front with the versatile linebacker. He told him where he could fit in the scheme and what he liked on film, but was honest about what Sanna needed to improve.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoaches, they don\u2019t want to criticize kids, right? They want to give the kids what they want to hear because they need them to choose their school,\u201d Bartholomew said. \u201cInstead, Coach Laurinaitis came in and said, \u2018If you show up in my room, these are the things you\u2019re going to have to do to get better.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
For Laurinaitis, his recruiting philosophy, which has landed not only 2026 No. 2 linebacker Cincere Johnson but also the No. 2 linebacker in the 2025 class, Riley Pettijohn, goes back to the coaches he admired growing up. People like Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell, former Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo, and others showed him the consistency he had to bring.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t always like what they said. But they were gonna be consistent to you and everybody else around you,\u201d Laurinaitis said.<\/p>\n
Fickell wasn\u2019t exactly sure how good Laurinaitis would be when Ohio State was recruiting him \u2014 but he knew Laurinaitis had a confidence and a drive they couldn\u2019t teach.<\/p>\n
It showed itself early, when Bobby Carpenter broke his leg on the first play of the 2005 Michigan game, and Fickell turned to Laurinaitis to sub in.<\/p>\n
The freshman just smiled at Fickell.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just laughed at you and looked at you with this confidence,\u201d Fickell said.<\/p>\n
He went on to tally 375 tackles and 13 sacks in college, was a second-round draft pick by the St. Louis Rams, and played eight years, recording 871 tackles and 16.5 sacks.<\/p>\n
But when his playing career ended, Laurinaitis found himself trying to figure out what was next. He knew he would have health insurance for the next five years through his NFL career, so he had time to experiment with whatever he wanted.<\/p>\n
Laurinaitis wanted to stay around the game, so he did some radio work in Columbus and worked for Big Ten Network, but the coaching itch was always there.<\/p>\n
![\"James](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/USATSI_26937345.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n James Laurinaitis was a First-Team All-American at Ohio State before playing in the NFL for eight seasons. (Neal C. Lauron \/ USA Today Network via Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
His dream was always to coach the linebackers at Ohio State. He even had discussions with Day about joining the staff before 2023. But before he could do that, he went to Notre Dame to learn about the profession alongside Marcus Freeman, one of his best friends and teammates at Ohio State.<\/p>\n
Though he was just a graduate assistant, he served as the de facto linebackers coach, with defensive coordinator Al Golden as the coordinator and position coach.<\/p>\n
He spent that year learning to manage a linebacker room and identifying which drills he preferred. He also learned about playbook drawing and used Microsoft Visio for the first time.<\/p>\n
After one year, he returned to Columbus as a GA and the de facto linebackers coach under Jim Knowles.<\/p>\n
He climbed the coaching ladder quickly, but there\u2019s a long-held belief in the coaching profession that great players don\u2019t make great coaches.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know that I always believed it because I\u2019ve seen the exact opposite. I\u2019ve seen it in James, Mike Vrabel and guys I knew well,\u201d Fickell said. \u201cWhat was always great about James is that he had an ability, where he wasn\u2019t so arrogant, even though he had this athletic confidence, that he could recognize that not everybody did things the same way or could do things the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n
This offseason, Laurinaitis decided to take a trip down memory lane.<\/p>\n
He went through every drill the linebackers ran in 2023 to refine his teachings and to identify some things that may work for this year\u2019s linebacker corps.<\/p>\n
Over the last four years, Laurinaitis has been thrown into the fire, balancing getting his top players to play at their best while bringing the young players along in their development.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s finding your teaching progression for everything, from installing to just certain techniques and what drills you were going to use,\u201d Laurinaitis said. \u201cYou want to work on everything, but you don\u2019t have that much time. You might have 10 minutes to work individual drills. \u2029So how do you combine footwork, block destruction, tackling, all in the one drill? And make it understandable for young kids, but all while also enhancing your older players?\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"James](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/USATSI_28779336-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Arvell Reese was chosen with the fifth pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. (Adam Cairns \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
Laurinaitis has been fortunate to coach some elite upperclassmen, who have helped bring along the underclassmen as well. Players like Tommy Eichenberg, Cody Simon and Styles all play a part in the growth of the youth in the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think, I hope anyway, we\u2019ve had a room where the older guys have set the standard,\u201d Laurinaitis said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t really need to be said much. It\u2019s just displayed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everything seemed to work well over the last two seasons. Ohio State has had a linebacker drafted each year<\/a> since Laurinaitis arrived in Columbus, with the hope of turning the Buckeyes into Linebacker U.<\/p>\n