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Ohio State LB Coach James Laurinaitis Again Received Prestigious Nomination
Ohio State Buckeyes linebackers coach James Laurinaitis applauds from the sideline during the NCAA football game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. Ohio State won 31-7. Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ohio State LB Coach James Laurinaitis Again Received Prestigious Nomination

Originally posted on Ohio State Buckeyes on SI
By Anthony Moeglin  |  Last updated Jun 3, 2025 8:45 PM ET

Before James Laurinaitis patrolled the Ohio State Buckeyes’ sideline as their linebackers coach, he patrolled the middle of the field donning the Scarlet and Gray. During his playing days, Laurinaitis was the prototypical linebacker. 

He stood at 6-foot-2 and weighed in around 255 pounds and was a heat-seeking missile to the football. The middle of the field was not a safe place when big number 33 was in the middle of it. 

On Monday, Laurinaitis received the highest nomination that he possibly could. He was nominated to become a member of the College Football Hall of Fame for the class of 2026. This is his seventh year in a row being on the ballot.

Laurinaitis’ stats at Ohio State were so good that they were nearly laughable. He had three straight seasons of over 115 tackles, capped by his senior season where he tallied 130 total stops on the year. He also marked 26 tackles for loss over his career to go along with 13 career sacks. He tallied nine interceptions.

He was a three-time All-Big 10, two-time consensus All-American, twice he was named Big-10 Defensive Player of the Year to go along with winning the Jack Lambert (2 times), Nagurski, Butkus and Lott awards. 

Simply put, he was a special talent during his time in Columbus, and he is now again up to have his name etched in college football history forever.

There are more than 12,000 ballots sent from the College Football Hall of Fame to both the members of the National Football Foundation and the Hall of Fame Inductees. Voting concludes on July 1 and the inductees are announced early in the 2026 season. 

Other eligible members of this year’s class are Mark Ingram II, Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III, Aaron Donald and Kellen Moore. 

If Laurinaitis is voted in, he would be the 35th Buckeye to be selected into the Hall and would be the fourth Ohio State Linebacker to have the honor.

Read More Buckeyes News Here


This article first appeared on Ohio State Buckeyes on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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