Tag: James Laurinaitis

Ohio State assistant James Laurinaitis dishes on Buckeyes’ national title aspirations

Well, he has a point. #GoBucks

Everyone believes this year’s Ohio State football team is loaded for bear with a chance to be really special and make a run at not only a Big Ten title, but a national one as well.

With several guys that should have heard their names called in spring’s NFL draft coming back, and with the addition of several high-profile players in the transfer portal, the roster might be one of the most talented we’ve seen in Columbus. However, before you put the scarlet and gray cart before the horse, former Ohio State linebacker turned Buckeye assistant, James Laurinatits would like to remind everyone that it takes more than talent to win a national title.

He singles out the 2005, 2015, and 2019 teams as rosters that were some of the most talented to never win a anational championship and cautions everyone to remember that there’s more to it this year as well.

If you didn’t hear what Laurinaitis had to tell WBNS 10TV’s Dom Tiberi, you can catch the quick exchange below thanks to the wonder of the internet and social media.

Laurinaitis has a point well worth considering, and one that this year’s team is hopefully taking to heart as it looks to put talent, hard work, and desire all together to bring a national championship trophy back to the banks of the Olentangy.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

Two Ohio State football luminaries nominated to make college football Hall of Fame

Will they both make it?

It should come as no surprise that when [autotag]The National Football Foundation[/autotag] announced its 2025 ballot, that there would be some Ohio State football flavor to the group.

Indeed that was the case, as former linebacker [autotag]James Laurinaitis[/autotag] and former head coach [autotag]Urban Meyer[/autotag] were both on the list.

The ‘backer has quite a resume, as “Lil Animal” was three-time All-American starting in 2006, won the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award twice, while also taking home the 2007 Butkus Award and 2006 Bronko Nagurski Award.

As for Meyer, his record speaks for itself. He has the third-highest winning percentage in FBS history. He guided his teams to win three total championships, two with Florida and the first College Football Playoff with the Buckeyes in 2014.

It wouldn’t be at all surprising to see both Laurinaitis and Meyer make the final cut. We actually expect that to be the case.

Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on X. 

Ohio State assistant James Laurinaitis ready to battle players in EA Sports College Football 25

Would you put money on him? #GoBucks

It’s been more than a few years since we’ve all been able to play a college football video game, but that’s nearing an end very soon on a game console and high definition television of your choice near you soon.

That’s because EA Sports is ready to bring all the fun back with College Football 25 in mid-July and seemingly everyone is excited about it. In fact, you can count former All-American linebacker and current Ohio State assistant, James Laurinaitis, in that camp as well. He’s ready to show some of the current OSU players what it takes to dominate virtually.

While discussing the upcoming season recently on the local ESPN affiliate in Columbus, 97.1 “The Fan,” the conversation turned to College Football 25 and Laurinaitis wasn’t shy about his video gaming skills and how he used to dominate during his playing days and his willingness to do the same when the chance arises in the near future.

“I’m sure they have (a PlayStation5) in the Woody,” Laurinaitis said the “Bishop and Friends” radio show. “We’ll get the game there. And then I’ll have to teach these young kids a lesson.”

There has already been a bit of an unusual vibe coming from the official trailer of the game, seemingly trolling Ohio State with Kyle McCord in a Syracuse jersey, a stiff-armed broken tackle by Michigan running back Donovan Edwards on OSU safety Lathan Ransom, and even Illinois hoisting the “Illibuck Trophy” despite not winning the game against the Buckeyes since 2007.

“I did mention something to Lathan. I’ll just say that,” Laurinaitis said. “I just said ‘Wow, man. Wow.’

Laurinaitis said he did have a little rivalry with former Buckeye linebacker and current Notre Dame head coach, Marcus Freeman, often getting the best of him and leaving him a bit salty while playing previous versions of the college football EA Sports game.

“Marcus used to get upset that my speed was better than his,” Laurinaitis said. “I was like, ‘Don’t blame me. Blame the nerd who made it.’ ” The Little Animal went on to say that he used “to destroy” Freeman when they played.

As far as current Buckeyes, Laurinaitis looks forward to showing the young kids how it’s done, even if he has lost sight of the NFL Madden franchise still played today.

“Guys like C.J. Hicks brag about their Madden skills,” Laurinaitis said. “I’m like, ‘Look dude, I don’t have time for Madden anymore. What are we talking about?’ But when it comes to NCAA, yeah, that might be (what I should do).”

As a reminder, EA Sports College Football 25 is set for release on July 19. It will be available on the Playstation 5 and XBox Series X\S.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

 

Saints linked to a 2024 draft linebacker at Ohio State pro day

The Saints were linked to a 2024 draft linebacker at Ohio State’s pro day. Steele Chambers could be a good pick to help replace Zack Baun:

Here’s an interesting draft prospect. The New Orleans Saints had dinner with Ohio State linebacker Steele Chambers before his pro day workout on Wednesday, per Sportskeeda’s Tony Pauline. New Orleans signed free agent linebacker Willie Gay to push Pete Werner for snaps but they could use more help with multiple players hitting free agency.

So what’s the story here? Chambers doesn’t fit the athletic thresholds the Saints have maintained at the position. He weighed in at 6-foot-flat and just 226 pounds with 30.5-inch arms at the NFL Scouting Combine, posting pedestrian numbers in the jumps and agility drills, without timing the 40-yard dash until his pro day (where he was clocked in the 4.6 to 4.65 range by scouts in attendance, per 11 Warriors’ Dan Hope). As fate would have it, Buckeyes linebackers coach James Laurinaitis, who briefly played for the Saints, conducted drills for Chambers at the school’s pro day.

While those numbers aren’t strong enough to get him drafted by the Saints early on, they shouldn’t eliminate him altogether. Chambers is projected to be picked in the the last few rounds of the 2024 NFL draft, and that’s generally where teams like New Orleans start to make exceptions for players they like who don’t hit their athletic targets in these drills.

And there’s a lot to like with Chambers. He’s only played linebacker for three years after spending his first two seasons in Columbus at running back, but he’s already totaled more than 1,700 career snaps across 39 games on defense. He has some ball skills with four career interceptions.

Importantly for the Saints, Chambers has played plenty of snaps on special teams. He’s ran with the return and coverage squads on both punts and kickoffs as well as the field goal block team. Zack Baun was a key player on special teams for New Orleans and they need to replace him, among others, in that capacity. Nephi Sewell won’t be ready for training camp after suffering a torn ACL in December, and other special teamers like Andrew Dowell, Ty Summers, and Ryan Connelly are all free agents. Maybe Chambers can win a role in the kicking game before developing into a quality backup. We’ll see where he ends up in April’s draft.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

Ohio State football offers 2025 Georgia linebacker

Laurinaitis is already hard at work on the recruiting trail. #GoBucks

With [autotag]James Laurinaitis[/autotag] getting elevated to Ohio State football’s linebackers coach, he has much more responsibility on the recruiting trail.

Finding players that fit what he is looking for is key, and it seems like he has found one in Georgia’s [autotag]Jaedon Harmon[/autotag]. The 6-foot, 1-inch and 215-pound linebacker was offered a Buckeye scholarship on Wednesday evening, marking the first offer given out by Laurinaitis as a full-time staff member.

Harmon is one of the best players at his position in the country, ranking as the No. 19 linebacker and 150th overall prospect in the nation according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Ohioan Eli Lee committed prior to Laurinaitis’ elevation, so expect him to put his stamp on prospects that he wants added to his linebackers room.

Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on X.

Highest rated Ohio State football players in college football video game history

Highest rated Ohio State football players in college football video game history #GoBucks

A teaser trailer dropped for the new upcoming EA Sports College Football video game and despite seeing very little gameplay and details, the anticipation is at an all-time high. At this point, gamers who have waited a decade just want the playoffs and transfer portal added and would be happy with the graphics from the past generation of consoles.

According to the trailer, we can expect a full reveal this May and the game to hit shelves this summer, but if you are like me, you are too much of a pessimist to believe it. Nonetheless, it is fun to take this opportunity to look back on some of the highest-rated Ohio State football players in this game’s history. The craziest part of this list is that a now current coach on the staff is tied as the highest Buckeye ever rated.

The last game came out in 2013 and it is a real shame we missed out on studs like Nick Bosa, Chase Young and of course C.J. Stroud, but it will be interesting to see who some of the top guys are this year.

Watch: Ohio State’s new linebacker coach James Laurinaitis explaining his coaching style

Little Animal is already turning out to be a great hire. #GoBucks

When Ohio State football elevated [autotag]James Laurinaitis[/autotag] to linebackers coach, it was seen as a win-win.

It’s looking like even more than that after the former All-American met with the media on Tuesday. Laurinaitis has been in the spotlight before, both in Columbus and in the NFL. Talking to reporters is easy for him, but it wasn’t about that comfort level, it’s about what he said.

Laurinaitis was asked how he plans to coach his unit going forward, it wasn’t just about success on the field. Part of it is, but he wants to develop his players as men. Check it out for yourself below.

It’s safe to say that another former Buckeye, Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell, had a big influence on Laurinaitis. He wants a family feel to his room, and it should play off big dividends in the long run.

Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on X.

James Laurinaitis promoted to linebacker coach

James Laurinaitis promoted to linebacker coach #GoBucks

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind when talking about Ohio State football coaches coming and going and the most recent change has been announced. James Laurinaitis has officially been promoted to become the linebackers coach for the Buckeyes.

Laurinaitis spent this last season as a graduate assistant and it was also his first season in Columbus, Ohio, in that role. Still, it only took that one year for Ryan Day and company to pull the trigger and announce him as one of the ten full-time assistants on staff.

There was some slight worry that Laurinaitis may leave to the NFL as he interviewed with the Cleveland Browns, but that may have been the motivation Ohio State needed to give the former Buckeye All-American a full-time position.

Laurinaitis was given a two-year contract and will be taking over for Jim Knowles who was playing the role of defensive coordinator and linebacker coach.

James Laurinaitis elevated to Ohio State LB coach after interviewing with Browns

After interviewing with the Browns, Laurinaitis appears to be staying in Columbus.

Perhaps using the Cleveland Browns for leverage, James Laurinaitis has been promoted to linebackers coach at Ohio State after interviewing in Berea.

After working for one season under his college teammate and friend Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame, Laurinaitis joined the Ohio State staff as a defensive assistant last year. He now gets moved to a position coach with his alma mater after one year on staff.

The Browns had interest in Laurinaitis joining their staff, bringing him in for an interview this week. Laurinaitis could have been preparing for another option in the possibility that he did not receive a promotion at the college level. Either that, or he may have used this interview in Cleveland to force Ohio State’s hand a bit into giving him the promotion he desired.

Either way, it appears Laurinaitis is staying in Columbus and will not be making the trip up I-71 North to Cleveland.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=646863720]

Browns are reportedly set to interview Ohio State legend for coaching position

Another former college player could join the Browns coaching staff

Head coach Kevin Stefanski and the Cleveland Browns continue to look for new additions to the coaching staff after an impressive 11-win season. This time the team is reportedly set to interview Ohio State legend James Laurinaitis for a possible defensive coaching role.

Ohio State fans will remember Laurinaitis for his playing days in Columbus as one of the best linebackers the school has ever had. Currently, he is a coaching assistant at his Alma Mater in Columbus and it isn’t clear what position Cleveland might have in mind for him if he is hired.

The Browns already have a solid linebackers coach on the staff, but you can never have enough good coaches who understand the game on the level of Laurinaitis. The Browns have overhauled their assistant coaching staff this offseason as they look to build on the 2023 season and make a push for the 2024 Super Bowl. It isn’t clear when the interview will occur or if it already has.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=646863720]