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'Freak' Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese ready for full-time role
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- 'Freak' Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese ready for full-time role
Arvell Reese was asked to describe himself as a player, and his choice of words was a fitting one for an Ohio State linebacker.
"I'd say when you think of me, you'd think of a bullet, like a silver bullet," Reese said. "I'm always around the ball."
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The Silver Bullets, of course, has long been the nickname for the Buckeyes ' defense, and now Reese is ready to take his place on it on a full-time basis. The Cleveland Glenville product played 322 snaps last year and had 43 tackles as Ohio State 's third linebacker behind Cody Simon and Sonny Styles .
Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Arvell Reese (8) takes the field during the first football practice of the season at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on July 31, 2025.
With Simon in the NFL, Reese's time to be a starter has arrived. He expects to emerge as a star as a third-year sophomore.
"I think I'm a huge difference-maker," Reese said.
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Teammates and coaches share that opinion of the 6-foot-4, 244-pounder.
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"If you talk to many people on our D-staff about Arvel, they would probably all use the word 'freak' to describe him," linebackers coach James Laurinaitis said. "It's violence at the point of attack and his ability to run. He can do a lot of different things that you dream of at the linebacker position."
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Reese was a tantalizing player from the time he arrived on campus two years ago because of his physical gifts. Coaches even toyed with the idea of using him as an edge rusher as a freshman because of his explosiveness.
Laurinaitis, a former OSU All-American, was a graduate assistant when Reese was a freshman. He said he lobbied in coaches meetings for Reese to stay at linebacker.
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But Reese, not surprisingly, was raw then.
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"When he was young, trying to teach him the scheme and everything about college football, it was overwhelming," Laurinaitis said. "You had to kind of pare it down."
Now his knowledge is catching up with his physical gifts.
"I think his diagnosing ability has sped up," Laurinaitis said. "Now he can come off the field and know exactly what he did wrong on a play or what he did right and how he could change it the next time."
Styles was recently ranked No. 10 on The Athletic's college football freak list. He believes Reese could have been included on that list.
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"He's a crazy athlete," he said. "He's the kind of guy who can basically do anything on the field, whatever you want. He could be one of the top players in the country, honestly."
With sophomore Payton Pierce emerging as a reliable third linebacker, Laurinaitis believes his unit could be dominant.
"I view all three of them as starters, whether we're three (line)backers or two, and they're pushing each other in that way," he said.
Reese said he has adapted well to new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia's scheme, and Laurinaitis said Patricia is enamored with Reese.
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"Coach Patricia loves him, believes in him deeply, which I think has boosted his confidence as well," he said.
Reese agreed.
"Physically, mentally, emotionally, I think I'm there," he said.
Ohio State football beat writer Bill Rabinowitz can be reached at brabinowitz@dispatch.com or on bluesky at billrabinowitz@bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football LB Arvell Reese ready for full-time role
