The Ohio State Buckeyes’ 2025 recruiting class is looking better and better on paper. In early July, Riley Pettijohn chose the Buckeyes over the Texas Longhorns, Texas A&M Aggies, and USC Trojans. This was a huge recruiting win for Ohio State, as they were able to go to Texas and get one of the best linebackers of the class.
On Tuesday, Pettijohn and the Buckeyes received more good news. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound linebacker was upgraded from a four-star to a five-star talent in On3’s industry rankings, which are a weighted average that takes all four major recruiting websites into account.
Riley Pettijohn, who committed to Ohio State University, is now a 5-star recruit in the On3 Industry Rankings, a weighted average that uses all four major recruiting services‼️🌰
Read: https://t.co/AlWV6HWMDu pic.twitter.com/2M0V8AdCHm
— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) 13 August 2024
Not only is Pettijohn now considered a five-star player, alongside quarterback Tavien St. Clair and cornerbacks Na’eem Offord and Devin Sanchez, but he is now the 32nd best young player and the second best linebacker.
As a junior at McKinney High School, the talented linebacker recorded 125 tackles, eight tackles for loss, three sacks, one interception and five pass breakups. Those numbers may be hard to top, but Pettijohn is gearing up for a potentially great senior season before joining the Buckeyes in 2025.
The Buckeyes currently have 24 commitments in the 2025 recruiting class, 14 of which are defensive tackles. Five also happen to be in the secondary, meaning Pettijohn should have good support on the field in the future.
Pettijohn is the fourth five-star prospect in the class, according to On3, and the Buckeyes hope to add a fifth on Saturday in No. 1 offensive tackle David Sanders Jr. He is expected to announce his decision at 12:30 p.m.
