Ohio State star Arvell Reese makes his official decision on his future.
Ohio State Buckeyes superstar pass rusher Arvell Reese made his decision final on Thursday; he is going to the NFL Draft.
The Cleveland, OH native has been nothing short of spectacular in his one real season where he was a main part of the Buckeyes' defense. In this era of NIL and the transfer portal, Reese is a great example of the good that comes from staying at one spot and earning your way onto the field.
In his first two seasons in Columbus, he was a special teams ace. He began his career at Ohio State as a guy who would run down on kickoffs and punts and make plays. His freshman year ended with no stats in just six games played.
Year two was a little bit different for Reese as he was still a key component on special teams, but he started to work his way onto the defense. Early on in the season, it was in mop up duty, while later in the year, he started factoring in more and more on the defense. He finished the year with a solid 43 tackles and .5 tackles for loss.
It was hard for Reese to find his way onto the field when the two linebackers ahead of him were Sonny Styles and Cody Simon, and the two main pass rushers were Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau. He was behind some legends, just waiting for his turn.
The wait ended at the beginning of the 2025 season, and the funny part about it all is that the wait timed up perfectly. The biggest addition to the Buckeyes this year was the defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and he used Reese all over his defense.
Reese found his niche on the defense, rushing the passer with reckless abandon. His rush instincts were so incredible that it made everyone wonder where he was all this time.
He burst onto the scene against Texas with nine tackles and one sack outing against the Longhorns, and he was off and running. He was a man possessed against the Penn State Nittany Lions with 12 tackles and one sack.
He became a focal point of the Buckeyes' defense, and he was such a joy to watch. While doing all of this, he made himself a ton of money along the way.
Reese started the year as a relative unknown in college football, and he is finishing it as a top-10 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
He will bounce all around the Mock Drafts leading up to the draft, but he will not fall outside of the top-10. In one year, Reese made an incredible impact on the Ohio State program, and he has the potential to be one of the next great ones in the NFL.