Payton Pierce Ready For Larger Role In Year Two

Payton Pierce came to Ohio State from Lovejoy High School in Lucas, Texas where he was a finalist for the High School Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker. As a senior in 2023, Pierce finished with 181 tackles, 40 tackles for loss, eight sacks, four forced fumbles, and two blocked kicks.

As a true freshman for the Buckeyes in 2024, Pierce posted four tackles while playing in 13 of Ohio State’s 16 games.

Such is life for most true freshmen.

And yet, Payton Pierce climbed the depth chart of Ohio State linebackers, finishing fifth in number of snaps at the position. He eventually found a spot on special teams, which is where he saw the entirety of his action over the Buckeyes’ final seven games of their championship season.

“Yeah, I’ve had a really good year playing on special teams and had a lot of fun this season,” Pierce recently told Buckeye Huddle. “I expected to do big things. I just didn’t get spring ball from being injured this past spring, which kind of hurt me a little bit. But I felt like I came in in fall camp and did enough to show that I can go out there and compete and play with the best of the guys.”

With the step up from high school to college, there are always going to be growing pains. A lot is asked of every player. Their understanding has to be at a greater level if they want to see the field. Pierce spent each day increasing his understanding, and he had plenty of help from veterans Cody Simon and Sonny Styles, as well as linebackers coach James Laurinaitis along the way.

“It’s great having Cody in the room learning from him every day,” Pierce said. “He’s so knowledgeable and then having Coach Laurinaitis, I mean, he knows everything about linebacker and what it takes. So just consuming all the knowledge I can get every day has been awesome. And it’s been great being on special teams, having a job, and contributing in every game. So it’s been really fun.”

Special teams has long been a rite of passage for Buckeye greats throughout their respective careers. While some fans on the outside might not understand the importance of special teams, for the players who win those jobs, it is very serious business.

“Yeah, I mean, they didn’t redshirt me and I was fine with that because that’s how they do things here and I think it’s an honor for me to be out there on special teams because it means my coaches trust me and they are willing to put me out on the field every game” Pierce said. “So it means a lot and you see all the great players that have played through Ohio State at every position, all started on special teams. And I mean, they’ll show clips of Ezekiel Elliott making kickoff tackles his freshman year, so it’s really fun.”

The role on special teams in 2024 indicates that Payton Pierce made a positive impression on his coaches as a true freshman. It was not an easy transition to college ball, however. There was a heightened level of physicality because everybody is bigger. The playbook is also bigger and Pierce needed to attack that aspect of the game as much as the on-field stuff.

Through it all, he had teammates he could lean on and trust.

“There’s just so much stuff you don’t even know,” Pierce said. “I’m so grateful to have Cody and Sonny and all these guys in our room that know how to play. I mean, Sonny’s played three different positions, so he knows the whole structure of the defense. And Cody, I mean, Cody’s like a second coach out there. So just learning from them every day has been huge. And the good thing is I really enjoy learning schematically about our defense and just stacking days and getting better and getting more consistent. I think I’m doing a really good job of that, and I just gotta keep it up.”

Cody Simon is now off to the NFL. Rising junior Arvell Reese is expected to step in for him, but there are backup jobs available at both linebacker spots. Pierce could be involved in either spot. And as the Buckeyes have shown, even if the defense has just two linebackers in its base set, more than two are going to play throughout a game and season.

Wherever James Laurinaitis sees Payton Pierce, the rising sophomore expects to be ready.

“Yeah, I mean, I’m pretty comfortable at Mike, but I didn’t even play Mike this past season,” Pierce explained. “I’ve been at Will, just cross training. I mean, I had to learn Sam, Will, and Mike while not being on the field in spring ball. I thought I’d probably be at Mike, but with our room, Coach Laurinaitis had me learn Will. I’m so grateful I got to learn Will and have been playing Will all year because it’s just helped me learn everything about the defense. 

“I think it shows that I can learn multiple things in our defense. It just helps me understand ball better. The more you know about other stuff — not just your job, helps you play faster. So now with me being more at Mike maybe, I think playing Will has really helped me understand everything.”

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