Before he could set his feet on a football field for Ohio State, Payton Pierce had to keep one propped up on a scooter.
Pierce entered the spring of his freshman year with an ankle injury that kept him sidelined. There was promise for the top-200 prospect out of Texas, but for those couple of months, he watched on as others developed. But even then, in the back of his mind, he had visions of his future at Ohio State. Of where he sits at this present moment.
“When I was on a scooter watching everyone play as a true freshman, I dreamed about being this guy where I'm at right now,” Pierce said. “It's been a lot of long days, long nights since being on that scooter. But I'm super grateful for it. And obviously, I keep getting better, keep bringing guys along. But it's a great opportunity that you dream of since you were a little kid. I dreamed about being a starting linebacker at a big-time program, and it's here now.”
Pierce is the heir apparent at Mike linebacker for Ohio State. He’s gone from childhood dreamer to star at Lovejoy High School to scooter to a highly effective role player to now being the focal point of the Buckeyes’ second-level defenders for a unit replacing two soon-to-be first-round NFL draft picks in Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese.
“You saw it with Payton when you recruited him,” linebackers coach James Laurinaitis said. “You knew what he was about. Tough, instinctual. I actually started recruiting him when I was at Notre Dame. That's when I had awareness of Payton, and we actually had him come up to South Bend. And then I took the job, came back home, and it was one of the first phone calls I made was just trying to get them on campus.
“And the reason being was you knew how instinctual and tough he was, and he was a throwback Mike linebacker. And the thing that's great about Peyton is he's so competitive – and he's a perfectionist and all those things as you should be as a Mike – he's been trying to nip at the heels over and over. And honestly, I think he has pushed the guys in front of him because of how hard he practices. He earned the respect of everybody right away freshman year with how physical he was in the box, and now it's fun to kind of see him find his voice even more.”
Pierce produced as Ohio State’s third linebacker in 2025. Rotating in behind Reese and Styles, he collected 43 tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss in just 262 snaps. That’s one tackle every 6.1 snaps, the highest rate of any contributor to last year’s Silver Bullets. He made big plays in a few big moments, too, grabbing an interception in the Buckeyes’ win at Illinois and forcing a fumble in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals against Miami to stop a long Hurricane drive.
“I feel like I was able to have a lot of production for the limited amount of snaps I had,” Pierce said. “I don't remember exactly how many tackles per play I had, but I feel like I did a good job. Obviously, there's a lot of plays I wish I could redo and do it again, but I feel like I had some good amount of production and I was seeing things pretty well out there for – it's hard running out there for a play, then having to run off for three and then come back out there, not really getting a groove. But our coaches do a great job. And Laurinaitis does a great job of making everything real simple for all the linebackers so we can play fast.”
The Mike linebacker in Ohio State’s defense also wears the green dot for in-helmet communication with coaches, relaying important calls and information to the rest of the defense. It’s one of many ways Pierce will have to embrace new leadership responsibilities in his third year of college football.
“It's a great opportunity that you dream of since you were a little kid.”– Payton Pierce on the chance to start at Mike linebacker for Ohio State
Pierce does feel he’s a natural leader, however. That’s part of the “throwback” middle linebacker style Laurinaitis spoke to, and probably something that reminds the two-time Butkus Award winner of himself when he was at Ohio State.
“I've gotten to step up a lot more, be more vocal,” Pierce said. “I mean, I've considered myself a leader since I was really young. I was a two-time captain on my high school team. And I felt like there was opportunities, even in my freshman year, I could lead the freshman guys and stuff like that. So I feel like I've done a good job of leading up until now. Obviously, my leadership role has stepped up even more with the whole team. And I've learned from the best, Sonny and Cody (Simon) and Arvell.”
Laurinaitis agreed that Pierce has always been a natural leader, but there are still elements of communication to work on through the levels of the defense.
“Payton's always had the loud voice to get guys lined up and all those things,” Laurinaitis said. “Now, the next step that I'd like to see is that Payton is getting his teammates aligned, and he's demanding calls from the back end. I think our communication is going really well so far with our group, but you just continue to push the envelope. The last thing you want as players is to get comfortable in the sense of thinking that they've arrived. None of our guys do.”
Pierce is set to scoot into Ohio State’s starting lineup and fulfill that lifelong dream of his this fall. And he’s got the talent, toughness and skill to leave a lasting mark.
