Ohio State freshman linebacker Riley Pettijohn sheds black stripe

COLUMBUS — Ohio State has always expected freshman linebacker Riley Pettijohn to push for a special teams role and maybe even more during his first year.

He’s taking the necessary steps to make that happen, and he’s doing it early in training camp. Pettijohn shed his black stripe on Tuesday after practice. Of course, that signifies that he’s performing well on the field and taking care of business off the field early in his career.

Pettijohn is the first Ohio State freshman to lose his black stripe during training camp, which began Thursday. He was the second freshman from the 2025 recruiting class to shed the stripe, joining wide receiver Quincy Porter, who lost his black stripe back in April during spring practice.

Ohio State freshman tight end Nate Roberts also lost his black stripe on Tuesday after practice.

Pettijohn is a former borderline five-star prospect who made an immediate impact during spring ball, but now he keeps taking important steps toward a role this fall. The black stripe is a big step.

He and fellow freshman TJ Alford are both on track to move up the depth chart this fall.

“I think the physical traits they have stand out when you see them,” Ohio State senior linebacker Sonny Styles said of Pettijohn and Alford at Big Ten Media Days two weeks ago. “They don’t look like freshman linebackers, not at all. They’re both about 230, getting close to 235, so they got big frames and stuff like that. They’re both very physical. They play the game in a physical way.

“But I think the biggest thing with getting on the field as a freshman is just, can the coach trust you? And that’s something they’re working on right now. I think they’re doing a pretty good job at it too, just earning coach Laurinaitis and coach Patricia’s trust every day.”

Pettijohn is clearly taking major strides in earning that trust. He’s the newest Buckeyes player to shed his black stripe, and he’s the first to do it during 2025 training camp.