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LB Coach James Laurinaitis (2x B1G DPOY, 2006 Nagurski, 2007 Butkus, 2008 Lott, 3x All-American, OSU HOF, National Champion)

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James Laurinaitis on the progress of Arvell Reese, what he expects leadership-wise from OSU's linebackers​

Ohio State linebackers coach James Laurinaitis went into great detail when describing what he expects from players in his room from a leadership standpoint. He also spoke at length about rising junior LB Arvell Reese who is going to step into a starting role this season.​

Linebackers coach James Laurinaitis knows a thing or two about leadership being a former two-time captain at Ohio State. Recently, Laurinaitis was asked what rising junior Arvell Reese needs to do this spring to seize the starting middle linebacker job – replacing Cody Simon who had an excellent 2024 season – and Laurinaitis answered the question. While answering the question, he also provided what can best be described as an awesome peek behind the curtain regarding his views on leadership.

"I think with Velly (Reese), a lot of it is just preparation," Laurinaitis said. "I think when you're a young player, there's so much to learn and sometimes it just goes back to habits. And we talked about it a lot last year, and he got way better as the season went on, but it's habits and then it's leadership, and I think what we've seen so far in the winter is him taking a more active leadership role. And obviously Sonny (Styles) is a great leader for us, but you kind of see the development of Arvell being a leader as well.

"Malcolm Jenkins talked to our guys last year and I thought he had a great message for everybody. He said everyone should want to be the leader, the captain of their class, and it's a mindset. So, I've kind of adopted that, and obviously Malcolm and I played together, but the whole idea of, if you're Payton Pierce or Garrett Stover, you guys should both be the leaders of your class, you know what I mean? And obviously that trickles down to TJ (Alford), Riley (Pettijohn), and Eli (Lee), but it's just a mindset.

"It's a mindset anyway – if you're a linebacker – you just naturally have to be a leader. You've got to communicate so much, so it's getting Velly to get out of the shell, which he did last year. And I on purpose roomed him with Cody Simon on the road for multiple reasons, to make sure that he was awake and coming to meetings on time, but just like there was a maturity that Cody had, having gone through it, and pairing him with Velly (seemed like a good idea). He's had a phenomenal winter so far and I'm excited to see him compete here once we get back."

Leadership seems to be an innate trait. You either have it or you don't. Laurinaitis won't go quite that far, but he did expound on his thoughts about being a leader at a place like Ohio State.

"I think a lot of times, leadership, it's hard," Laurinaitis said. "You can try to teach leadership for sure, but a lot of it's like, it's just 'caught,' you know what I mean? Like when you're around it, you just see it. And everybody has a different style. So, that's one of the things that I've stressed to Arvell. I even stressed it to Sonny, like, you guys don't have to be Cody Simon, just because Cody Simon was a great leader, he did it in his way. Like, if you try to be somebody else, and you're not authentic to yourself and your own personality, then the locker room will notice. If you're a guy who's pretty quiet, and all of a sudden you're trying to give all these uncomfortable, rah-rah speeches, and it's not who you are, that's not going to go over well. And you see, I've always seen people do that.

"And so, you have to get comfortable in who you are. A.J. Hawk was a great leader. A.J. barely said anything when we were at practice, but then when A.J. spoke, you're like, 'OK,' you know what I mean? Like, he was quiet, he did everything right, he worked his tail off.
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