James Laurinaitis is returning to Ohio State as a graduate assistant, the program announced Friday.
In 2022, traded in his career as a radio host and Big Ten color commentator to get into coaching, joining former Ohio State teammate Marcus Freeman's Notre Dame staff as a GA. He'll now transfer those duties to his alma mater.
Laurinaitis was one of the best linebackers in the history of a program that's produced a lot of them.
A two-time Big Ten defensive player of the year and a three-time All-American, Laurinaitis collected 869 tackles, 16.5 sacks, 10 interceptions and two forced fumbles from 2005-08. He won the Jack Lambert Trophy twice, the Butkus Award and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the top defensive player in college football.
Laurinaitis was a second-round pick of the St. Louis Rams in 2009 and played six seasons there before finishing his career in 2016 with the New Orleans Saints.
Now, he'll be partly responsible for finding and developing the next James Laurinaitis, working with defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to coach the Buckeye linebackers.
“I am thrilled for our program and especially for our current and future Buckeyes who will benefit so much from having James on staff,” Ryan Day said. “James is a terrific young man with wisdom as a Buckeye and experience as an eight-year NFL veteran. He is going to be a very important part of our program going forward.”
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