5-star Ohio State football commit delivers massive hit

Riley Pettijohn knocked the helmet off of a Texas high school football opponent on Friday

McKinney 2025 linebacker Riley Pettijohn postgame in the 2023 Texas high school football season. / Photo by Buck Ringgold, SBLive

A 5-star linebacker committed to Ohio State laid a thunderous hit in a Texas high school football game on Friday.

Riley Pettijohn, a star at McKinney High School knocked the helmet off of a Lakeview Centennial ball-carrier in McKinney's 41-24 win. Footage of the play can be seen here.

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Tariq Hemphill, a sophomore receiver from Lakeview Centennial, took a hand-off on an end-around to the left and cut inside in an attempt to split between two defenders.

Pettijohn was one of the players waiting for him and delivered a shoulder-leading hit that popped Hemphill's helmet off on impact.

An audible gasp rang out after the hit and an animated Pettijohn fist-pumped toward the sideline.

It's no wonder he's the No. 1 linebacker and No. 14 overall prospect in the country and the No. 5 overall prospect in Texas' 2025 class, according to Rivals, and chose the Buckeyes in July over Texas, USC and Texas A&M.

As a junior, the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder rushed for 125 tackles, eight for loss, three sacks, an interception and a blocked field goal while leading McKinney to the second round of the 6A Division II state playoffs.

He's one of three linebackers verbally committed to Ohio State's unanimously top-ranked 2025 recruiting class and the highest rated of the three alongside four-star Tarvos Alford of Vero Beach (Florida) and three-star Eli Lee of Archbishop Hoban (Ohio).

Pettijohn is back in action Friday when McKinney plays at Plano at 7 p.m. CT. The Lions (1-1) opened the season with a narrow loss to Frisco Emerson.

Pettijohn is the top-rated linebacker in Texas this fall — a state with a deep talent pool at the position. Take a closer look at some of the others among his company

• READ MORE: Where are the top 20 committed Texas prospects headed?

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-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sblivetx