There have been players who have played for Ohio State that you just know look like Buckeyes. Those chiseled, able-bodied, imposing, towering presence of these behemoths are easily identifiable with wearing the Scarlet and Gray.
James Laurinaitis, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame this past January, embodies this description. For four seasons as a player and going into his fourth season on the Buckeyes’ coaching staff, Laurinaitis has made, and continues to make, a huge difference on the field and, now, on the sideline.
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Born in Wayzata, Minnesota, a suburban town of Minneapolis-Saint Paul and approximately just nine miles west of Minneapolis, and also home to the first president of Target, Douglas Dayton, Laurinaitis was a dynamic two-sport athlete at Wayzata High School.
So much so that he was viewed as a second- or third-round NHL Draft pick due to his hockey prowess—this is Minnesota we’re talking about, a state known for its hockey. Now you know where Laurinaitis got his toughness and physicality from.
Minnesota’s Defensive Mr. Football in 2004, Laurinaitis led Wayzata to the Class 5A State Championship while racking up 193 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, and five sacks. Despite boasting tremendous potential on the ice, Laurinaitis progressed with football and took his talents to Columbus ahead of the 2005 season.
Joining a defense coordinated by Jim Heacock, with Luke Fickell as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers’ coach, the Buckeyes’ defense was about to get its stalwart for the next four seasons, a player who would eventually become a College Football Hall of Famer.
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There are only three players in the 137-year history of the Ohio State Buckeyes who have been a consensus and/or unanimous All-American three times.
The first two are from early in the 20th Century: Chic Harley (1916-17-19) and Wes Fesler (1928-29-30). James Laurinaitis is the third. In addition, there are only three Buckeyes who have led the team in tackles for three straight seasons. Marcus Marek did it from 1980 to 1982, and A.J. Hawk did it from 2003 to 2005.
Not to worry when Hawk was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 2006, Laurinaitis was waiting in the wings, and he would lead the Buckeyes in tackles for the next three seasons.
A two-time team captain and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Laurinaitis was the face of the Buckeyes’ defenses that carried them to the national championship game in 2006 and 2007 while also winning at least a share of four straight Big Ten Championships.
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In addition, Laurinaitis won the Bronko Nagurski Award in 2006, the Butkus Award in 2007, and the Lott Trophy in 2008. Laurinaitis took over as the Buckeyes’ strong-side linebacker when Bobby Carpenter broke his leg on the first play of The Game in Ann Arbor in 2005, and he never looked back.
He made his first start of his career in the Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame, igniting a legendary career that made Laurinaitis the 29th Buckeye to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
With a 43-8 record overall, 29-3 in the Big Ten, and 4-0 against That Team Up North, the Buckeyes’ defense never finished below 15th in the country in total defense in each of its four seasons. The Buckeyes led the country in total defense in 2007, a team that played LSU in the national championship.
Laurinaitis set, and still holds, the BCS National Championship Game record with 18 tackles in that game. Through his four seasons, Laurinaitis totaled 375 tackles, still the seventh-most in school history. In addition, Laurinaitis also had 24.5 tackles for loss, 13 sacks, and nine interceptions in his four seasons.
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There were 27 Buckeyes drafted between 2006 and 2009. In addition, there were 30 linebackers taken in the 2009 NFL Draft. Five linebackers were selected before James Laurinaitis: Aaron Curry (Wake Forest, 4th overall to the Seahawks), Brian Orakpo (Texas, 13th overall to the Commanders), Brian Cushing (USC, 15th overall to the Texans), Larry English (Northern Illinois, 16th overall to the Chargers), and Clay Matthews (USC, 26th overall to the Packers).
It wasn’t until the 35th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, held by the St. Louis Rams, that Laurinaitis was drafted.
It was unfortunate that the Rams weren’t very good in any of Laurinaitis’s seven seasons with the team. In those seven seasons, the Rams were 37-74-1. The finished third or fourth in six of those seasons, and the only realistic shot they had at the Playoffs was in 2010 when they entered Week 17 7-8 and in a win-and-in as the NFC West Champions. But they lost to the Seahawks 16-6, finishing 7-9. Seattle was also 7-9… but they won the NFC West.
Still, though, Laurinaitis had an excellent seven seasons individually. Laurinaitis finished with over 100 tackles in each of his seven seasons, leading the NFL with 117 solo tackles in 2012. He played and started 16 games in all seven seasons, intercepting 10 passes, racking up 871 tackles and 49 tackles for loss along with 16.5 sacks, recovering nine fumbles, and breaking up 35 passes.
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Laurinaitis played his final season in New Orleans with the Saints, appearing in only five games with three starts, recording 17 tackles and recovering one fumble.
Following a broadcasting career with the Big Ten Network and 97.1 FM in Columbus, Laurinaitis broke into coaching. He began his coaching career as a GA at Notre Dame, with the Fighting Irish opening the season in Columbus against the Buckeyes.
Laurinaitis spent only one season at Notre Dame before making the lateral move to Ohio State as a GA in 2023. He was promoted to linebackers’ coach after just one season, and that’s where he started to make his mark on the sidelines.
In 2024, Laurinaitis was part of an Ohio State defense that ranked first in the country, allowing just 12.9 points per game. The Buckeyes’ defense also held opponents to just 254.6 yards per game and 15.1 first downs per game. Eight players on that defense were selected in the NFL Draft.
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How did the Buckeyes’ defense top that? In 2025, Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese became the first pair of linebackers in school history to be named First-Team All-Americans. Both players were selected in the top 10 of the NFL Draft. Seven total players from that defense were drafted this past April.
“The traditions here are unmatched, but the excellence is, I think, in whatever you do at this school is what sets you apart,” Laurinaitis said. “When I think of Ohio State, having been here, and obviously been associated with it since 2005, it’s like, you just understand that if you’re going to be part of this university, you’re expected to bring excellence.
“As a coach, I almost have more angst about it, because I want to make sure that the guys out there are representing the standard,” Laurinaitis said. “I knew I could uphold that standard as a player. And now it’s on you to get it out of the guys.”
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Now, a 2018 Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame inductee and three-time Academic All-Big 10, along with the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in 2008, Laurinaitis is married to his wife, Shelly, who’s also an Ohio State graduate, and they have four children together.
Laurinaitis made an immediate impact and mark as an Ohio State linebacker in the mid-2000s. He’s carried that standard to Styles, Reese, and a handful of other linebackers who were recently selected in the NFL Draft.
There have been many great Buckeyes, namely wide receivers, who have come through Columbus and carved out great careers in the NFL. But very few, if any, embody what it means to be a Buckeye more than James Laurinaitis.
He embodied it as a player, and now he’s embodying it as a coach. James Laurinaitis is the definition of a Buckeye hero.
