Like Ryan Day and Brian Hartline before him, James Laurinaitis is building his own Position U at Ohio State

The Buckeyes became the first college program with two linebackers drafted in the first round as Laurinaitis seeks to turn Ohio State into the premier linebacker destination.

COLUMBUS — Ryan Day was asked a question by an Ohio high school football coach a few weeks ago during the Thursday evening chalk talk portion of Ohio State’s annual coaches clinic. The coach wanted to know how Day approached his early days in Columbus, when he was just an assistant trying to make a mark and prove his worth. Day told a story he’s told many times, about how he observed the history of Ohio State quarterbacks and thought that, while the tradition was strong, he could enhance it. One of his immediate short-term objectives was to make Ohio State QBU.

With help from Dwyane Haskins, Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud, Day accomplished that goal.

Now the head coach, Day challenges every position coach he hires to approach their job with the same mindset. That made last Thursday’s first round of the NFL Draft a coronation of Ohio State linebackers coach James Laurinaitis. Day, Laurinaitis, and a few other coaches watched from the green room in Pittsburgh as Arvell Reese went No. 5 overall to the New York Giants, and Sonny Styles went two picks later to the Washington Commanders. OSU became the first program to have two linebackers selected in the top 10 of the same draft.

“While Arvell was getting drafted, and Sonny was going right after him, I put my arm around James and said, ‘Remember when you first got here, and I said your job is to make this place Linebacker U again?’” Day recalled last week. “Look how quickly he did it.”