Top linebacker targets respond to Laurinaitis’s elevation, while Ohio State’s five-star safety earns another Crystal Ball.

Ohio State benefits greatly from the rise of James Laurinaitis in a number of ways, including recruiting.

To put it mildly, Ohio State’s summer has been tremendously successful despite being busy thus far. Recruitment successes on the transfer site take center stage, and for good reason. However, other program areas have experienced equal success as a result of this coaching staff’s aggressive approach.

Seemingly at an all-time high, high school recruiting is keeping the coaches busy. Ryan Day places a high premium on working with those in Columbus who are fostering that success. Thankfully, Thursday demonstrated that this crew is committed for the foreseeable future, indicating that great things are still to come.

Keeps Laurinaitis at Ohio State

On Thursday, Ohio State announced a few decisions regarding its coaching staff for 2024. The most significant development is the official promotion of James Laurinaitis to full-time linebackers coach.

This is a huge gain for the program because he brings a wealth of talent to the position. It may have been in the works for some time. Even while the Buckeyes have already benefited from having him as a GA, having a more permanent position means he will be there for a longer period of time and will have more responsibility.

Above all of those duties is the responsibility of recruiting. Having accepted a full-time role as coach, James has demonstrated his capacity to be a formidable force on the recruiting trail. He can now actively seek out prospects off campus. Due to Parker Fleming’s departure, Ohio State has been able to dispatch him around the nation over the past several months, and it’s likely that his success in this role played a significant role in his promotion.

With several linebackers targeted in this 2025 class, Laurinaitis is already making an impression. Ohio State’s top choices due to his extensive experience at the position. Because he spent so much time playing in the NFL and at Ohio State, recruits look up to someone who has been there and done that. They also gave their opinions about why they think this was the right decision.

The fact that some of their best players have expressed their approval on Twitter proves that Ohio State made the right decision and that the Buckeyes will be competitive for some of the best players at this position not just in 2025 but for years to come.

Positive thoughts about five-star safety are still present.

The defensive secondary’s recruitment successes over the last two years might rank among the best in program history. Three cornerbacks from Ohio State were added in the 2024 class, demonstrating that Walton was beginning to establish himself as one of this staff’s stronger recruiters and making headway in the recruiting process.

In 2025, Walton ranks among the finest both on staff and nationwide, and he already has the two best cornerbacks in the nation, Devin Sanchez and Na’eem Offord, committed. Even though these two to five stars would be sufficient in any recruiting class, the Buckeyes are still in excellent shape and might add more defensive backs this cycle, one of whom still has the Buckeyes associated with his name.

Faheem Delane, the top safety in the class and the No. 25 player in the country according to 247Sports Composite, has been leading the Buckeyes at safety for a while now. It has been exciting to watch him play over the past few weeks as Ohio State’s momentum seems to be picking up steam. Several national analysts now put Walton and Ohio State as Delane’s landing spots after receiving another 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction in favor of the Buckeyes on Thursday.

Although the work is not yet complete, this amount of smoke typically indicates a fire. If Ohio State were to add something, they would rank first overall in safety and first in both corners. This defensive backfield is unquestionably the finest in the nation and among the best in Ohio State history, but the explosion could arrive at any time.

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