Ohio State Linebackers Coach, College Football Hall of Famer James Laurinaitis to Ring Victory Bell Before Illinois Game

In a speech to official visitors last month that was shared in a video by five-star defensive lineman Marcus Fakatou recapping his official visit, Ryan Day revealed that Ohio State linebackers coach James Laurinaitis will be the Victory Bell ringer for the Buckeyes’ Sept. 26 home game vs. Illinois.

Laurinaitis was selected to ring the Victory Bell in honor of his upcoming induction into the College Football Hall of Fame later this year.

“The Victory Bell was built in 1954 so that everybody in the area could hear when the Buckeyes won. Not everybody could get to the stadium; they didn't have as much TV and radio, there was not as much coverage as what you see, no TikTok back in 1954. So people in the area, when they heard the bell ring, they knew the Buckeyes won. It was a big deal,” Day said while speaking to official visitors and their families inside Ohio Stadium. “Then we started a tradition last year that we have some of our former players come back and ring the victory bell before a game. And next year, before the Illinois game, Coach Laurinaitis, who's being inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame, is going to ring the Victory Bell before that game.”

Laurinaitis will be the first sitting member of Ohio State’s coaching staff to ring the Victory Bell before a game. For the first year of the tradition last season, Ohio State’s pregame Victory Bell ringers were two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin, former Ohio State head coaches John Cooper, Urban Meyer and Jim Tressel, and Ohio State basketball greats Clark Kellogg, Michael Redd and Jerry Lucas. Former Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba rang the Victory Bell before Ohio State’s spring game after leading the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl championship this past NFL season.

Laurinaitis, who’s entering his third season as Ohio State’s linebackers coach, is one of the all-time great linebackers in Ohio State history. One of only eight three-time first-team All-Americans in program history, Laurinaitis recorded 375 total tackles with 24.5 tackles for loss, 13 sacks, nine interceptions and four forced fumbles across four seasons as a Buckeye. The only two-time winner of the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Award (2007 and 2008), Laurinaitis also won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as college football’s best defensive player in 2006, the Butkus Award as college football’s best linebacker in 2007 and the Lott IMPACT Trophy in 2008.

The Victory Bell ringing and the rest of Ohio State’s traditions seemingly resonated with Fakatou on his official visit to OSU, as the Buckeyes are favored to land his commitment after he announced Friday that he would decide between Ohio State, Georgia and Texas, canceling his scheduled official visits to Oregon and Notre Dame. The No. 24 overall prospect in the 2027 class, Fakatou said in his official visit vlog that he appreciated the authenticity of his official visit at Ohio State compared to other schools.

“They're not really doing too much, but in a way, to me, that just shows their authenticity,” Fakatou said. “Instead of them doing too much where that not only burns me out, but it's like, okay, I know this is not gonna be really who you guys are gonna be on the field, if that makes sense.”