There were no shortage of expectations for Payton Pierce when he arrived on campus.
The Texas product was a Butkus Award finalist in his senior season of high school, notching nearly 200 tackles in his final prep season and slotted in as a four-star recruit in the 2024 class.
But the 6-foot-2, 223-pound linebacker came into spring football with Ohio State at a disadvantage, as he was recovering from a serious leg injury that prevented him from doing much in his first few months on campus.
“I didn’t really know what to expect,” Pierce told Eleven Warriors last month before the national championship.