Christian Alliegro’s usage in practice through the first half of his first spring as a Buckeye suggests he could be the Arvell Reese of Ohio State’s 2026 defense – at least in terms of the role he’ll play.
Viewed as a presumptive starter at linebacker alongside Payton Pierce since he transferred to Ohio State from Wisconsin in January, Alliegro said he’s lined up primarily as an edge rusher and Sam linebacker in his first seven practices as a Buckeye.
“We've been doing a lot of edge stuff right now, so I'm kind of playing like that Sam position to the field,” Alliegro told reporters in his first interview session as a Buckeye following Ohio State’s seventh practice of the spring on Thursday. “I think next week we'll go more down to like a (four down linemen, two linebacker scheme), but right now we're kind of like a one-backer Sam, so I've been working a lot on the edge right now.”
As one of Ohio State’s top two linebackers last season alongside Sonny Styles, Reese lined up on the edge for just over half of his snaps (327 of 651), according to Pro Football Focus. Now expected to primarily play edge rusher in the NFL as a projected top-five draft pick, Reese was a dynamic force for Ohio State’s defense in his hybrid linebacker/edge role last season, earning consensus All-American honors as he recorded 69 total tackles with 10 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks and two pass breakups.
Alliegro said Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and linebackers coach James Laurinaitis have talked to him about playing a similar role as Reese since they were recruiting him out of the transfer portal. Alliegro didn’t line up on the edge frequently at Wisconsin, playing just 32 snaps there last season according to PFF, but he believes it’s a role that fits his game well.
“My length, my ability to set the edge, my ability to pass rush in different ways,” Alliegro said when asked why he thinks playing on the edge suits him well.
As the spring and the rest of the offseason progress, Alliegro will likely spend more time lining up in an off-ball position at Will linebacker in more traditional two-linebacker looks. Ohio State plans to utilize Alliegro in multiple ways in its 2026 defense, as his versatility was one of the top traits that stood out to Laurinaitis when he evaluated Alliegro as a transfer prospect.
“You saw him on the line of scrimmage as like a nine-technique, you saw him in space, you saw him off the ball in the middle,” Laurinaitis said of watching Alliegro’s Wisconsin film. “The versatility definitely was something that we liked to have. There are other guys in our room that have the same versatility, but it definitely was something that drew our attention there.”
That said, Patricia has been intentional about having him focus on playing on the edge first before taking on other roles, recognizing that Alliegro is still acclimating to playing in Ohio State’s defense.
“If they're just getting into the program where maybe they're an older player and things are going to go fast, what you try to really do is like, ‘Hey, let me just teach you this one thing first. Let me see how you handle that. Let you get a little bit of confidence with that first.’ Then ‘Let me teach you this next thing,’ and then you build it that way,” Patricia said last week when asked about Alliegro. “I think if you throw all of it at them at once, sometimes you're kind of like just doing a bunch of different things, but you're not real confident in one thing. I think the key is to get them confident in one thing first, so they know that like, ‘Hey, I know I can do this.’ And then build from there. And certainly the linebacker position, you have to do that because there is so much that kind of goes on there.”
Over time, though, Alliegro is eager to play a variety of roles in Ohio State’s defense this season, noting that he even played safety in high school.
“It’s super exciting,” Alliegro said of potentially playing multiple roles for the Buckeyes. “I think the more you can do, the better.”
Given Reese’s standing as a potential No. 2 overall NFL draft pick, Alliegro shouldn’t be expected to fully replicate Reese in Ohio State’s defense this year. There are plenty of other candidates to also see significant action at linebacker alongside Pierce and Alliegro for Ohio State this season, including sophomores Riley Pettijohn and TJ Alford, redshirt sophomore Garrett Stover and freshman Cincere Johnson.
But there is a lot to like about Alliegro. The 6-foot-4, 241-pound senior was one of Wisconsin’s best defenders last season, recording 53 tackles with eight tackles for loss and four sacks in 10 games. He made a huge impression on Ohio State’s coaches by playing with a broken arm – still recording six tackles with two tackles for loss – in the Buckeyes’ win over Wisconsin last year.
Christian Alliegro broke his arm while tackling Bo Jackson in the first quarter of Wisconsin’s loss to Ohio State last October, but returned to the game. (Photo: Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Alliegro has continued to impress those coaches just as much this spring, losing his black stripe after just six practices.
“He's done really well,” Laurinaitis said. “I truly believe that we are different from other programs, the way we challenge our guys and the culture that Coach Day has here of ‘Hey, we're going to fight to be the best version of ourselves,’ that is not easy. You're going to be challenged and you are expected to be uncomfortable every single day because you grow when you're uncomfortable, and I think he's really bought into it. He’s been everything that we expected when we brought him in.”
Alliegro said his decision to transfer to Ohio State was “kind of a no-brainer,” believing Ohio State’s coaches and players will allow him to maximize his development for the NFL. He knows he has massive shoes to fill as the Buckeyes replace two All-American linebackers in Reese and Styles, who’s also a projected top-10 draft pick, but he’s excited for the challenge of following in their footsteps.
“It's super exciting,” Alliegro said. “I think those guys kind of paved the way for linebackers at Ohio State last year. Obviously that's a lot to live up to, but I'm gonna try my best for sure.”
