Under-the-radar Ohio State LB set to make immediate impact as true freshman
It isn’t often that a true freshman starts for a college football team. Especially a college football team that is the defending National Champion, like the Ohio State Buckeyes are this year.
However, with just weeks to go until the Buckeyes kick off their season opener against the Texas Longhorns, that is exactly what Ohio State fans should start to expect.
On Wednesday, Aug. 6, OSU linebackers coach James Laurinaitis shared that people should get ready to see a lot of Riley Pettijohn, a true freshman LB who joined the Buckeyes in January. Reportedly, Pettijohn had shed the black stripe on his helmet just a day earlier.
Newcomers to the Ohio State football program wear a black stripe on their helmet because they are yet to prove their worthiness as a fully-fledged Buckeye. Pettijohn has already met those qualifications.
The game between Texas and Ohio State will obviously be a rematch from the 2025 College Football Playoff semifinals, where the Buckeyes defeated the Longhorns to move on to the National Championship game.
It will also be a matchup between the top two teams in the country, according to the latest preseason Coaches Poll, with the Horns ranked No. 1 and the Buckeyes ranked No. 2 in the nation.
