How 5-star LB Riley Pettijohn impacts Ohio Sate’s class

Ohio State bolstered its 2025 recruiting class on Saturday with a commitment from five-star linebacker Riley Pettijohn from McKinney, Texas.

Pettijohn is ranked No. 31 overall and the No. 4 linebacker in the Class of 2025 in the 247Sports Composite. He picked the Buckeyes over USC, Texas, and Texas A&M.

Ohio State now has 23 commitments — including 11 top-100 national prospects — in its top-ranked 2025 class.

What does this mean for the Buckeyes?

Is it time to call James Laurinaitis the most valuable addition to Ohio State’s coaching staff this offseason? Laurinaitis was hired in February for this exact reason — to kill it on the recruiting trail. He is turning a position that has had massive depth concerns into a strength.

Pettijohn is the third linebacker in the Buckeyes’ class, joining top-50 national prospect Tarvos Alford and four-star Ohio native Eli Lee. Pettijohn is an athletic, ball-hawking linebacker with outstanding speed. He ran track as a junior and competed in the 4×100, 4×200 and 4×400 relay teams.

Ohio State hasn’t signed a top-100 linebacker from outside of Ohio since landing New Jersey native Cody Simon in the Class of 2020. In the 2025 cycle, the Buckeyes have Alford from Florida and Pettijohn from Texas.

Ohio State will have to hold off Texas and USC over the next five months, but signing Pettijohn — along with Alford — could eliminate concerns about the future of the linebacker position.

(Photo of Ryan Day: Kyle Robertson / USA Today)

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