2024 Freshman Class Report: Linebacker Payton Pierce

This is the 13th installment in a series where Buckeye Huddle looks back on each member of Ohio State’s 2024 signing class and the impact they had in their first season, as well as the impact they could have during the upcoming 2025 season. Up next is linebacker Payton Pierce.

The Buckeyes landed linebacker Payton Pierce out of Lovejoy High School in Lucas, Texas where he was a finalist for the 2023 High School Butkus Award. He earned an invite to January’s All-American Bowl following a senior season where he finished with 181 tackles and 40 tackles for loss.

A tackling machine, Pierce signed with Ohio State over offers from Texas, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, LSU, Michigan, Florida State, and dozens of others. He was ranked the No.5 linebacker in the 2024 class by ESPN, and the No. 9 linebacker according to Rivals.

2024 Season

Payton Pierce played in 13 games for the Buckeyes last season, only missing the three-game stretch of Oregon, Nebraska, and Penn State. He saw a little bit of time on defense in every game leading up to that, but then only saw defensive snaps against Purdue the rest of the season. He finished with four tackles as the Buckeyes’ third-string Will linebacker.

Pierce was involved in special teams, which is where he received the majority of his playing time. Even though he enrolled early as a freshman, he still had a slow start because he suffered a leg injury in his final high school game. He wasn’t able to participate fully in practice until fall camp.

So Now What For Payton Pierce?

After spending his freshman year at Will linebacker, Payton Pierce now expects to make the move to middle linebacker. The Buckeyes must replace 2024 starter Cody Simon at the position, so the job is now up for grabs. If Pierce does make the move, he will compete with junior Arvell Reese, who backed up Simon a year ago.

Pierce is a physical defender and active tackler who should figure into the two-deep in this Ohio State linebacker room. He has the fourth-most snaps among returning linebackers — behind Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese, and CJ Hicks.

There is a real possibility that Pierce will be the Buckeyes’ No. 3 linebacker this year behind Styles and Reese. Given his experience at Will, he could factor in at either position depending on the situation. The Ohio State defense found a way in 2022 and 2023 to get Cody Simon on the field as the Buckeyes’ third linebacker. The same could happen for Pierce should he prove himself worthy.