Todd Fitch leaving Ohio State, taking analyst position at LSU
COLUMBUS — Ohio State analyst Todd Fitch has been a big part of the quarterback room for the last three seasons.
But he has now found another opportunity, and he’s taking it.
Lettermen Row can confirm that Fitch is leaving the Buckeyes program.
And according to Wilson Alexander of The Advocate and confirmed by On3’s The Bengal Tiger, he will be joining Brian Kelly’s offensive staff at LSU. Fitch will reportedly be a senior offensive analyst for quarterbacks with the Tigers, who just produced Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Fitch, who has been an offensive coach at the college level since 1986, had been with the Buckeyes since 2021; Ryan Day hired him after Fitch and the rest of the Vanderbilt staff under Derek Mason was fired. Fitch served as the interim head coach at Vandy during a portion of the 2020 season.
*** JOIN LETTERMEN ROW NOW FOR JUST $1 ***
At Ohio State, Fitch worked directly with C.J. Stroud during both of Stroud’s seasons as the starting quarterback. Stroud, the former Heisman Trophy finalist, No. 2 overall pick in last spring’s NFL Draft and NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year this season, credits Fitch and Ryan Day for his development into a start quarterback early in his NFL career.
“I want to thank Ohio State, Coach Day, Todd Fitch and a ton of just Buckeyes out here that have given me nothing but support,” Stroud said in February during his Offensive Rookie of the Year award acceptance speech. “And showed a young kid some love all the way, 2,000 miles away, from home.”
The move by Fitch is another sign of change for Ohio State on the offensive side of the ball, as the Buckeyes moved on from now-former quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis so Bill O’Brien could become the quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator and play-caller. After O’Brien took the head coaching job at Boston College, however, Ohio State hired former UCLA head coach Chip Kelly to be the new play-caller, quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.
Kelly, of course, was the offensive coordinator at New Hampshire when Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day played quarterback there. The pair went on to coach together at UNH, as well as in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers.
With Kelly’s arrival, the Buckeyes offense is undergoing changes as spring practice nears; Ohio State will hit the practice field this week to open spring ball.
And the quarterback room will be led by a new voice in Kelly — without another key voice in Todd Fitch.
After serving as an Ohio State analyst for three years, Todd Fitch is moving on to LSU, where he will serve in a similar role in the SEC.
