Hundreds of fans rolled into the Woody Hayes Athletic Facility over the weekend for their first glimpse of the 2026 Buckeyes, and one of their first chances to see what Ohio State’s rebuilt defense could look like.
There was no shortage of sights.?
The Buckeyes must replace eight defensive starters from last season, including three NFL first-round draftees: linebackers Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles and safety Caleb Downs.?
With positions open across the defense, fall camp has turned into an audition for returners, transfers and younger Buckeyes alike, all looking to prove Ohio State can replace big names without lowering their “Silver Bullets” standard.
Defensive end Kenyatta Jackson Jr., who finished second on the team in sacks and tackles for loss last season, said Reese and Styles passed the torch to a new group of linebackers, Payton Pierce, TJ Alford and Riley Pettijohn, for the upcoming season.?
“We have a standard here that we can be the best, and they uplift that standard,” Jackson said.
Pierce, who played in all 14 games last season as a sophomore, said he is ready for the challenge to lead the defense and bring it to a competing level.
“滨’ve waited my turn for this, and I think I’m ready for it,” Pierce said. “滨’m super excited. The coaches have done a great job of putting in good play calls for us and building the defense. So, I’m just ready to go out there, get everyone lined up and go out there and ball out.”
As fall camp is underway, head coach Ryan Day said many decisions to set the team’s depth chart are still shaking out.?
“滨t is a competition. We want guys to compete and a lot of guys have earned the right to do that,” Day said. “So, now’s the time we’re going to be rolling these guys, and then these reps accumulate. We evaluate the reps and see where it goes.”?
With just three returning players who started each game last season on defense, Jackson, safety Jaylen McClain and cornerback Jermaine Mathews Jr., fall camp provides the opportunity for players to earn starting roles. Day said he’s looking to determine the starters in the cornerback room.
“We need to find what that combination is going to be there,” Day said. “Do we feel like we have two corners that we can just play all of the time? Do we feel like there’s three that we can rotate? How does that play into the nickel position? Those are all parts of what we need to solve here in the next couple of weeks.”
Other returning Buckeyes who saw action last year and are looking to earn a larger role this season include defensive ends Eddrick Houston, Beau Atkinson and cornerback Devin Sanchez.
The Buckeyes also added transfer defensive tackles James Smith and John Walker, defensive end Qua Russaw, linebacker Christian Alliegro and safeties Earl Little Jr. and Terry Moore.
With new players joining the defense, building chemistry has been a big focus throughout the offseason.
“滨 think even in spring ball, when a new transfer comes in or freshman comes in and makes a big play, you’re like, ‘here we go’, and everyone’s starting to come together,” Pierce said. “We’ve really gotten really close this summer because we had a bunch of new guys.”
Although the Buckeyes’ defensive unit doesn’t return much continuity from last season, Ohio State brings back defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who in his first season led the defense to the top-ranked in the nation in points and yards allowed.?
Jackson described the importance of gaining advice and leadership from Patricia, a former NFL head coach.
“[Patricia’s] a player coach. Everybody loves him in the building,” Jackson said. “滨t’s just it’s real easy to have a conversation with him, talk football with him, talk about life with him. He’s like a magnet. Everybody loves him because he’s so easy to talk to. And then once we step on the field, it’s the same way on the field. It’s just easy conversations about football.”
In terms of the whole team, Day said pieces are coming together and the off-season work has been worth it, but now it’s time to see results.?
“滨 think physically we look as good as we have,” Day said. “滨 think we have the talent, but now we got to go play.”
