The second Buckeye off the board is officially edge rusher Arvell Reese, and he lands with the New York Giants.
Arvell Reese is the best story in all of college football. At this time last year, he was an unknown player. Tonight, he is the number five overall pick.
Reese put together a special season at Ohio State in 2025-26, and he did enough to show that he has what it takes to be a franchise-changing player. With the fifth overall pick, the New York Giants are allowing him to do just that.
Reese is a special talent because the skill that he has on the ball, rushing the passer, is equally as impressive as what he can do off the football, playing the traditional linebacker position.
2025-26 was Reese's first legitimate opportunity as a full-time player. His freshman year, he didn't see the field at all, and then in year two, he saw a couple of snaps in cleanup duty but was mostly used on special teams. Year three, he made it immediately known that he was going to be impactful on a play-in and play-out basis for Matt Patricia and the Buckeyes defense.
Luckily for him, Patricia knew exactly how to deploy Reese to make him the most effective.
Reese finished the season with 69 total tackles, 10.0 tackles for loss, and 6.0 sacks on the season. He did most of his work early in the season, specifically in Week One versus the Texas Longhorns.
In that game, he burst onto the scene and notched nine tackles, 1.0 tackles for loss, and 1.0 sacks on the day. It was that performance that turned everyone's head.
Then, two months later, he had the best game of his season and his career. Against Penn State, Reese was everywhere against the Nittany Lions. He finished the game with 12 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and 1.0 sacks. He was everywhere for the Buckeyes in a game that was much closer than it should have been.
Now, as Reese turns his attention to the NFL, he has a big responsibility on his shoulders. As one of the top edge rushers off the board, he is going to be expected to get after the quarterback and do it from day one.
Reese is the second Buckeye off the board, and he leads the way for Ohio State, which is expecting to have a very large first night of the NFL Draft.
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