Ohio State bolstered its 2025 freshman recruiting class on Saturday with the commitment of five-star linebacker Riley Pettyjohn from McKinney, Texas.
Pettijohn is ranked No. 31 overall by the 247Sports Composite and the No. 4 linebacker in the class of 2025. He chose the Buckeyes over USC, Texas and Texas A&M.
Ohio State currently has 23 commitments in its top-ranked 2025 class, including 11 prospects ranked inside the top 100 nationally.
What does this mean for the Buckeyes?
Is it time to say James Laurinaitis is the most valuable addition to Ohio State's coaching staff this offseason? Laurinaitis was hired in February for exactly this reason: to be a big recruiting success. He's turned a position where there was a big concern about the lack of depth into a strength.
Pettijohn is the third linebacker in the Buckeyes' class, joining top-50 national prospect Tarvos Alford and four-star recruit Eli Lee from Ohio State. Pettijohn is an athletic linebacker with excellent speed and ball-winning ability. He ran track as a junior and competed on the 4×100, 4×200 and 4×400 relay teams.
Ohio State hasn't signed a top-100 linebacker outside of Ohio since acquiring New Jersey native Cody Simon in 2020. The Buckeyes have Alford, a Florida native, and Pettijohn, a Texas native, under contract for 2025.
Ohio State has to hold off Texas and USC over the next five months, but signing Pettijohn along with Alford could ease some concerns about the future of the linebacker position.
(Ryan Day Photo by Kyle Robertson/USA Today)
