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LB Payton Pierce (All B1G, National Champion)
- By ScriptOhio
- Buckeye Football
- 95 Replies
Past the Days of Visualizing It On a Scooter, Payton Pierce is Ready to Live Lifelong Dream As Ohio State’s Mike Linebacker in 2026
From the days of his youth to the days of riding a scooter in his first spring practice, Ohio State linebacker Payton Pierce has dreamed of the opportunity before him in 2026.
Past the Days of Visualizing It On a Scooter, Payton Pierce is Ready to Live Lifelong Dream As Ohio State’s Mike Linebacker in 2026
Pierce is the heir apparent at Mike linebacker for Ohio State. He’s gone from childhood dreamer to star at Lovejoy High School to scooter to a highly effective role player to now being the focal point of the Buckeyes’ second-level defenders for a unit replacing two soon-to-be first-round NFL draft picks in Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese.
“You saw it with Payton when you recruited him,” linebackers coach James Laurinaitis said. “You knew what he was about. Tough, instinctual. I actually started recruiting him when I was at Notre Dame. That's when I had awareness of Payton, and we actually had him come up to South Bend. And then I took the job, came back home, and it was one of the first phone calls I made was just trying to get them on campus.
“And the reason being was you knew how instinctual and tough he was, and he was a throwback Mike linebacker. And the thing that's great about Peyton is he's so competitive – and he's a perfectionist and all those things as you should be as a Mike – he's been trying to nip at the heels over and over. And honestly, I think he has pushed the guys in front of him because of how hard he practices. He earned the respect of everybody right away freshman year with how physical he was in the box, and now it's fun to kind of see him find his voice even more.”
Pierce produced as Ohio State’s third linebacker in 2025. Rotating in behind Reese and Styles, he collected 43 tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss in just 262 snaps. That’s one tackle every 6.1 snaps, the highest rate of any contributor to last year’s Silver Bullets. He made big plays in a few big moments, too, grabbing an interception in the Buckeyes’ win at Illinois and forcing a fumble in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals against Miami to stop a long Hurricane drive.
“I feel like I was able to have a lot of production for the limited amount of snaps I had,” Pierce said. “I don't remember exactly how many tackles per play I had, but I feel like I did a good job. Obviously, there's a lot of plays I wish I could redo and do it again, but I feel like I had some good amount of production and I was seeing things pretty well out there for – it's hard running out there for a play, then having to run off for three and then come back out there, not really getting a groove. But our coaches do a great job. And Laurinaitis does a great job of making everything real simple for all the linebackers so we can play fast.”
The Mike linebacker in Ohio State’s defense also wears the green dot for in-helmet communication with coaches, relaying important calls and information to the rest of the defense. It’s one of many ways Pierce will have to embrace new leadership responsibilities in his third year of college football.
Pierce does feel he’s a natural leader, however. That’s part of the “throwback” middle linebacker style Laurinaitis spoke to, and probably something that reminds the two-time Butkus Award winner of himself when he was at Ohio State.
“I've gotten to step up a lot more, be more vocal,” Pierce said. “I mean, I've considered myself a leader since I was really young. I was a two-time captain on my high school team. And I felt like there was opportunities, even in my freshman year, I could lead the freshman guys and stuff like that. So I feel like I've done a good job of leading up until now. Obviously, my leadership role has stepped up even more with the whole team. And I've learned from the best, Sonny and Cody (Simon) and Arvell.”
Laurinaitis agreed that Pierce has always been a natural leader, but there are still elements of communication to work on through the levels of the defense.
“Payton's always had the loud voice to get guys lined up and all those things,” Laurinaitis said. “Now, the next step that I'd like to see is that Payton is getting his teammates aligned, and he's demanding calls from the back end. I think our communication is going really well so far with our group, but you just continue to push the envelope. The last thing you want as players is to get comfortable in the sense of thinking that they've arrived. None of our guys do.”
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"We Choose to Go To The Moon!"
- By BuckBackHome
- Open Discussion (Work-safe)
- 98 Replies
Looking forward to pictures of the alien base on the dark side of the moon;-)
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North Carolina Tar Heels (Basketball Official Thread)
- By ScriptOhio
- Buckeye Basketball
- 9 Replies
Tommy Lloyd agrees to new 5-year deal with Arizona
Coach Tommy Lloyd has agreed to a new deal with Arizona, he announced Friday.
Tommy Lloyd agrees to new 5-year deal with Arizona
Coach Tommy Lloyd has agreed to a new deal with Arizona, he announced Friday."I'm staying at Arizona," he said at a Friday news conference.
Per ESPN sources, Arizona's new deal with Lloyd will make him one of the five highest-paid coaches in college basketball, as he'll start in 2026-27 at nearly $7.2 million and will average $7.5 million over the life of the deal.
The deal also includes significant bonuses and additional commitment to staff salary pool. The buyout is expected to remain significant both ways, as the deal is fully guaranteed, and the buyout to leave for another job, which was $9 million under the old deal, is expected to remain high.
Just sayin':
and just like that, Lloyd is not longer a candidate for the UNC position.
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"We Choose to Go To The Moon!"
- Open Discussion (Work-safe)
- 98 Replies
ASTRONAUTS ARE INSIDE THE MAGNETOTAIL: Artemis II is on its way to the Moon. The crew capsule broke orbit on April 2nd, propelled by a 6-minute-long translunar injection burn. This means the crew has officially left the protection of Earth's inner magnetic field, prompting NASA to keep a very close eye on solar activity.
The crew is now inside a part of Earth's magnetosphere that humans have not visited before: the magnetotail--a comet-like extension of the our planet's magnetic field that stretches millions of kilometers:
Think of it as a windsock. The solar wind compresses and elongates our planet's magnetic field, creating a downwind tail as shown in the NASA model above.
The magnetotail is extremely dynamic. It whips back and forth in response to solar storms, providing some protection while astronauts are inside and no protection outside. During extreme storms, the magnetotail itself becomes dangerous. Magnetic fields within it can tangle and explode--a process called "magnetic reconnection." (Note: The current storm is *not* extreme. The crew is still safe.)
Every month, the Moon crosses the magnetotail for 5 or 6 days. During the crossing, which is centered on the full Moon, moondust becomes electrified and may leap off the lunar surface. There could even be a "moondust wind" near the terminator between night and day.
Artemis is heading for the Moon at exactly this time. Several Apollo missions passed close to the magnetotail, but Artemis II could be the first to spend significant time inside it. In this respect, at least, Artemis is going where no one has gone before.
The crew is now inside a part of Earth's magnetosphere that humans have not visited before: the magnetotail--a comet-like extension of the our planet's magnetic field that stretches millions of kilometers:
Think of it as a windsock. The solar wind compresses and elongates our planet's magnetic field, creating a downwind tail as shown in the NASA model above.
The magnetotail is extremely dynamic. It whips back and forth in response to solar storms, providing some protection while astronauts are inside and no protection outside. During extreme storms, the magnetotail itself becomes dangerous. Magnetic fields within it can tangle and explode--a process called "magnetic reconnection." (Note: The current storm is *not* extreme. The crew is still safe.)
Every month, the Moon crosses the magnetotail for 5 or 6 days. During the crossing, which is centered on the full Moon, moondust becomes electrified and may leap off the lunar surface. There could even be a "moondust wind" near the terminator between night and day.
Artemis is heading for the Moon at exactly this time. Several Apollo missions passed close to the magnetotail, but Artemis II could be the first to spend significant time inside it. In this respect, at least, Artemis is going where no one has gone before.
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