Freakish.
That's the word Ohio State linebackers coach and former Butkus Award Winner James Laurinaitis used to describe Arvell Reese on Wednesday. Looking at pictures of the 6-foot-4, 243-pound monster of a junior, one would think that descriptor merely applies to Reese's physical traits. He is one of the dudesiest dudes to be named a Dude of the Week by the Buckeyes this summer, after all (he's on the left below).
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But that's not the first trait Laurinaitis was referring to when he applied that label to Reese. What mainly makes Reese freakish, Little Animal?
“It's violence,” Laurinaitis said on Wednesday. “It's violence at the point of attack, and his ability to run. I mean, violence and ability to run. He can do a lot of different things that you dream of when you get to the linebacker position.”
After cutting his teeth as Ohio State's third linebacker in 2024, Reese feels primed to become one of the Buckeyes' biggest breakout stars now that he's starting on defense in 2025.
"When you think of me, you could think of a bullet," Reese said. "A Silver Bullet. I’m really a bullet. I’m always around the ball. That’s how I like to play."
This season, Laurinaitis expects the realization of what he saw in Reese from the day he arrived at Ohio State as a freshman from Glenville High School in the 2023 class.
“He's playing so fast right now,” Laurinaitis said. “I think when he was young, trying to teach him just the scheme and everything about college football, it was a lot. It was overwhelming. You had to kind of pare it down. And now it's like he has this ability to, not only his ability to diagnose – I think that's why I always fought for him to stay at linebacker.”
Laurinaitis clawed to keep Reese in his room, even while still a graduate assistant before his promotion to full-fledged Ohio State linebackers coach in 2024. Reese was briefly moved to defensive end as a freshman when Ohio State needed more depth on the edge following an injury to Omari Abor. As a four-star, 215-pound linebacker prospect, a move to the edge was always viewed as a possibility with some added weight.
“It's violence.”– James Laurinaitis on what makes Arvell Reese "freakish"
But it wasn’t long before Laurinaitis lugged Reese back to linebacker from Larry Johnson’s defensive line room. He wouldn’t hear otherwise from Ryan Day or then-defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.
“He's got to play off the ball,” Laurinaitis recalled saying back then. “He's too freakish not to. He can see the game well. And I'm like, if we keep putting him on the edge, then you lose that vision of seeing the game in the middle of the field. You see it all from (one) way. And so I'm glad we got him back.”
The 2024 offseason featured a position battle between newly converted safety Sonny Styles and C.J. Hicks, both juniors, for Ohio State's starting Will linebacker spot alongside Mike linebacker Cody Simon. When Styles quickly won the job in preseason camp, the assumption was that Hicks would serve the same role Simon did in 2023 as the Buckeyes' third man in at the position.
But in the opening weeks of the campaign, Reese overtook Hicks, now a defensive end, in a sudden surge. Reese finished the season with 307 snaps to Hicks' 149. Reese accumulated 43 tackles with 3.5 tackles for loss playing rotationally and in 4-3 packages.
"That's pretty much what my role was. Whenever I was needed, I had to step up," Reese said. "I feel like that's what built me into me being able to say I'm ready for this year."
Reese's experiences in 2024 only accelerated the burning fuse toward his potential year-three explosion. He'll start alongside Styles in the Buckeyes' base 4-2-5 defense. He's clicked with new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, too.
“I think he's just confident,” Laurinaitis said. “And I think Coach Patricia loves him, believes in him deeply, which I think has helped boost his confidence as well. And I think if you talk to many people in our D staff about Arvell in general, they probably would all use the word ‘freak’ to describe him.”
Count Styles – who himself was ranked as the No. 10 “Freak” by Bruce Feldman on his annual Freaks List – among those who would use that same term to describe Reese. Wednesday, he said that Reese should have joined him on that list, among other teammates, before throwing even greater praise his running mate's way later in the interview.
“I think he's the kind of guy who can do basically anything on the field, whatever you want,” Styles said. “He could be one of the top defensive players in the country, honestly. So we'll see how it goes.”
Speaking of doing anything on the field, Patricia's defenses are known for moving pieces around to maximize the talents of players. Reese is an easy candidate for that, especially now that he's up to 244 pounds. The Buckeyes have ample depth at defensive end, but that doesn't mean Reese couldn't see work off the edge in 2025, especially in 4-3 looks.
“For right now, early in camp, we're trying to get really good at the fundamentals,” Laurinaitis said. “But Arvell has the ability to cut it loose. So, I think that's when you describe freak, like I think he's almost one of those guys that's positionless, like he can work at multiple different spots. Now, a lot of that might come down to game planning, but he definitely has the talent level to do multiple things for us.”
A starting role also means new leadership expectations for Reese in his junior year. He's not naturally the most outspoken character, but Laurinaitis doesn't expect him to be.
“He's not a very vocal guy, but I'm like, your play speaks volumes. So your way of leadership can just be with how hard you play,” Laurinaitis said. “Everyone around you can just catch that leadership by how hard you're going to be inspired by that. You don't have to be Cody. You don't have to be Sonny. Everyone's different in how they lead. Just be authentically you.”
For Reese's part, he's keeping his head down and approaching preseason camp the same way he approached his first two, just with an extra attention to detail. If he's the freak his teammates and coach purport him to be, it will freak out many offensive coordinators when game planning for the Silver Bullets.
“I feel like it's a way bigger responsibility with me having to step up this year, but I kind of go about it the same way,” Reese said. “Like last year, I was intentional with everything I did, and I feel like this year it's going to be the same thing. Just probably a little bit more.”
