With Ohio State’s first 15 practices of the year in the books, we now have a better idea of who’s on the rise and where things stand for the Buckeyes at every position group entering the 2026 season.
New Buckeyes were on the field at every position this spring as 51 new Ohio State players were part of the team that went through the Buckeyes’ March and April practices. There were plenty of newcomers and returning Buckeyes alike who stood out on each side of the ball as players competed for position on the depth chart and looked to prove they can make an impact for OSU this season.
With the Buckeyes currently in a break from on-field activity before summer workouts ramp up in a few weeks, we’re taking a position-by-position look at who stood out this spring, what questions still linger after spring, how the depth chart currently stacks up and the overall outlook for each position going into the summer.
After starting the Spring Recap with a look at Ohio State’s quarterbacks, we’re switching sides of the ball for a post-spring look at the Buckeyes’ linebackers, where James Laurinaitis has to replace two superstars in Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese but has plenty of candidates to become new playmakers for Ohio State’s defense in their place.
Spring Standout
TJ Alford
Alford was overshadowed by many of his peers in Ohio State’s linebacker room when spring began. Beyond projected starters Payton Pierce and Christian Alliegro, fellow sophomore Riley Pettijohn was generating most of the hype to be the Buckeyes’ next breakout star at the position. Five-star freshman Cincere Johnson was seen as perhaps the likeliest candidate to join them on the two-deep, while redshirt sophomore Garrett Stover made a big early move by earning Iron Buckeye honors.
As the spring progressed, however, it was Alford who drew the most praise of anyone. With Pettijohn sidelined by a shoulder injury, Alford took plenty of first-team reps this spring alongside Pierce and Alliegro. And both Laurinaitis and Ryan Day identified Alford as someone who could play a big role in the Buckeyes’ defense this year.
“TJ has grown so much from last season, so much,” Laurinaitis said this spring. “He's had a really strong start to this spring, so I expect to see a lot of football out of TJ Alford come this fall if everything keeps projecting, trending the way it's gone.”
“TJ is stepping up in a big way. He's gonna find himself playing a lot of football this year. He's knocking on the door every day,” Day said in April.
Alliegro remains the frontrunner to start at Will linebacker alongside Pierce this season, but Alford’s strong spring made him a real part of that conversation going into the summer. At worst, the rangy second-year Buckeye has positioned himself to be on the two-deep as Ohio State’s first or second linebacker off the bench, while he’ll also likely see extensive action on special teams.
Two Lingering Questions
1. Where will Riley Pettijohn factor in?
After flashing plenty of playmaking ability in limited action as a freshman, highlighted by a breakout performance against Grambling State in which he forced a fumble and returned a fumble for a touchdown, Pettijohn looked to be on the fast track toward starting as a sophomore in 2026. However, his absence from spring practice, paired with the addition of Alliegro and Alford’s big spring, leaves uncertainty about how exactly Pettijohn will be utilized this fall.
If his performance when called upon last season was any indication, Pettijohn is too talented not to have a role on defense this season. He could still emerge as a starter; if not, he’s probably still the favorite to be Ohio State’s No. 3 linebacker, a role that came with plenty of playing time for Pierce last year and Reese the year before. But he’ll enter preseason camp needing to earn his role since he wasn’t able to practice in March and April.
2. Can Payton Pierce be the Buckeyes’ next breakout star?
There’s no question that Pierce will be Ohio State’s starting Mike linebacker this season; that much was clear before spring even began, as Laurinaitis has sung Pierce’s praises since the four-star recruit from Texas was a freshman. The question now is just how good Pierce will be as he becomes the new leader of the linebacker unit following the departures of two All-Americans and top-seven overall NFL draft picks.
Expecting Pierce to be as elite as Styles and Reese were last season would be a high bar for Pierce to reach. He’s not quite the physical specimen that made both of them top NFL prospects. But he performed well as Ohio State’s No. 3 linebacker, recording 43 tackles in just 262 defensive snaps last season, and Reese showed it’s plenty possible to go from top backup to star in just one year.
The Buckeyes don’t need Pierce to singlehandedly equal Styles or Reese to have another great defense, but they are counting on him to be a consistently reliable tackler, effective coverage linebacker and alpha dog in the middle of their defense this year.
Depth Chart Projection
Mike
1. Payton Pierce
2. Riley Pettijohn
3. Cincere Johnson
4. Eli Lee
Will
1. Christian Alliegro
2. TJ Alford
3. Garrett Stover
4. Braxton Rembert
Pierce is the only lock to start at linebacker exiting spring, but it would come as a surprise if Alliegro doesn’t start after transferring in from Wisconsin. He’s expected to play a similar role to that which Reese played last season, lining up at Will linebacker in the base defense while lining up on the edge in “penny” fronts and as a Sam linebacker in three-linebacker packages.
Either Pettijohn or Alford could join them on the field in three-linebacker sets, with both of them being candidates to rotate in if Laurinaitis chooses to rotate more at his position this year.
Stover certainly shouldn’t be forgotten either after earning Iron Buckeye honors, but he still spent most of the spring with the second-team defense, and there’s no clear path to a major role for him at linebacker right now. The same is true for Johnson, who flashed in his first spring but is probably a year away from playing regularly on defense even though he was the top-ranked linebacker in the 2026 recruiting class.
Lee performed well in his second spring as a Buckeye while Rembert also showed plenty of upside in his first 15 college practices, but the talent in front of them on the depth chart will likely relegate them to special teams duty and late-game reps in blowouts for 2026. CJ Sanna is likely in line to redshirt his freshman year after missing the spring due to injury.
Post-Spring Outlook
Even with the departure of two superstars from last season, linebacker looks like Ohio State’s deepest position group coming out of spring practice.
At a position where the Buckeyes have used rotations of only three players in recent seasons, Ohio State has at least five and as many as seven legitimate options to play real roles on defense this year. That’s a good problem for Laurinaitis and Ohio State to have, giving them the option to rotate more than in past years or use different lineups in different situations.
It’s not easy to replace two All-Americans, so it’s still likely Ohio State will take a step back at linebacker from where it was last season. It will take a big leap from Pierce, Alliegro, Pettijohn and/or Alford for Ohio State to have even one linebacker who’s as good as the two linebackers who led its 2025 defense.
But Pierce’s performance as a role player last season and Alliegro’s play at Wisconsin are reasons to believe Ohio State will have at least two quality starters that it can rely on, while Pettijohn and Alford raise the ceiling of the unit significantly as athletically gifted sophomores with star potential. Pair that talent with Laurinaitis’ track record in his first two seasons as Ohio State’s linebackers coach, and there’s good reason to believe LB will be a position of strength for the Buckeyes once again in 2026.
