Riley Pettijohn Picks Ohio State In Shocking Decision

One of the top linebackers in the 2025 recruiting class opted to commit to the Ohio State Buckeyes over Texas, Texas A&M and USC.

Dec 29, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; The helmet of Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Devin Brown (33) sits on the sideline prior to the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic against the Missouri Tigers at AT&T Stadium. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA

The Ohio State Buckeyes have pulled off a major heist by going down to Texas and walking away with the commitment of five-star linebacker Riley Pettijohn on Saturday.

BREAKING: Elite 2025 LB Riley Pettijohn has Committed to Ohio State, he tells me for @on3recruits

The 6’2 220 LB from McKinney, TX chose the Buckeyes over USC, Texas A&M, & Texas

“Ohio State feels like home & I’m ready to come in and compete for a National Championship & Butkus… pic.twitter.com/zjdFVwHLhM

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) July 6, 2024

Pettijohn chose Ohio State over the in-state Texas Longhorns and Texas A&M Aggies. The USC Trojans were also part of his top four teams.

Headed into this past week, the Texas Longhorns were widely considered the favorite to land the star linebacker, yet Steve Wiltfong of On3 voiced his belief that the Longhorns would not be the choice come the weekend. He then proceeded to make the Buckeyes his final prediction.

Riley Pettijohn announces his commitment tomorrow at 11 a.m. and the Buckeyes may pull off an unexpected recruiting victory. @BuckeyesNow_FN https://t.co/dpsMCS3vsa

— Cole McDaniel (@cdm_2910) July 5, 2024

That prediction was a good one and came true at 12 p.m. ET.

After a couple major blows on the recruiting trail this past week for the Buckeyes, this is a major victory for Ryan Day and more specifically James Laurinaitis as the primary recruiter of Pettijohn.

Headed into his final season of high school, Pettijohn is listed at 6'2" and 220 pounds. In his junior season at McKinney High School in Texas, Pettijohn posted an impressive 86 solo tackles and 39 assisted tackles for an impressive 125 total tackles. Eight of those happened to be tackles for losses and he also added three sacks.

Nov 4, 2023; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes graduate assistant James Laurinaitis walks onto the field at a timeout during the NCAA football game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at SHI Stadium. Ohio State won 35-16. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA

When asked about why he chose the Buckeyes over the other schools, he credited his relationship with Coach Laurinaitis first and foremost.

Pettijohn has a lot of promise to have a good future with the Buckeyes' defense and helps improve the Buckeyes top ranked recruiting class in the country.