Last year, Ryan Day’s defense held teams to 9.3 points and 219.1 yards per game. How did that happen? Well, Ohio State’s got some of the best playmakers in college football who are turning pro this year, starting with edge rusher Arvell Reese, who is projected as high as the No. 2 overall pick. And what better time than this to draw some praise from friends you have known all your life?

At 6’4, 241 pounds, Arvell Reese ran a 4.46-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine with a 1.58 10-yard split. That was the best mark among edge rushers on Thursday, but he’s not the only one to flex that record. His Ohio State teammate Sonny Styles matched him with a 4.46 of his own. What’s special is that both are over 240 pounds, tying them for the fastest 40 among all LBs at this year’s combine. Since 2000, that time ranks tied for 11th-fastest by any LB weighing 240+. 

Support and respect poured in instantly for Arvell Reese, but one message from his former high school teammate stood out. 

“Been playing at every level on every team with you since we was 6 years old go shock the world brotha, I’m overly proud of you❤️🩸🩸,” Bryce West wrote on X, tagging Arvell Reese.

The friends grew up together in Cleveland, playing at Glenville High School and helping restore that Glenville-to-OSU pipeline. They call each other brothers and have shared locker rooms since they were kids.

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As for Arvell Reese, he’s leaving Columbus after two productive seasons where he tackled 112 times with 52 solo stops, two pass deflections, and 7.0 sacks. He was also a first-team All-American alongside Sonny Styles. And as he steps into the NFL, there’s been debate about where he fits at the next level. He made his choice clear on whether he would be an off-ball LB or a full-time edge.

“Teams have pretty much been asking me what I want to do and see where my mind was at,” he said. “I’ve been telling them I think I’m an outside linebacker/edge. I haven’t even scratched the surface with really what I can do pass rushing.”

His choice is based on both confidence in his skills and a business edge, since edge rushers get paid handsomely. Take the New York Jets, for instance. They created a massive need after trading Jermaine Johnson II to the Tennessee Titans for T’Vondre Sweat. If the Jets are eyeing Arvell Reese, they’ll want him hunting QBs. And after Thursday, he’s firmly in top-10 territory. 

If Reese and Styles both go that high, they’d join Tom Cousineau, A.J. Hawk, and Jim Houston as the only Ohio State LBs ever drafted inside the top 10. And while 4.46 at 244 pounds is impressive, Styles made another mind-blowing performance at the combine. 

Sonny Styles might have had the best combine ever for an LB

Sonny Styles’ speed is like lightning, but he also exploded in the vertical jump with a 43.5-inch record and an 11’2 broad jump. Both were the best among LBs at this year’s combine. His vertical ranks as the second-best ever for an LB, and his broad jump is the fourth-best all-time at the position.

Styles also posted an unofficial 9.99 Relative Athletic Score out of 10.00. Since 1987, it has ranked fourth out of 3,216 LBs tested. As for Arvell Reese, he opted to save his jumps for Ohio State’s March 25 pro day, but both LBs crushed position drills and looked fluid, decisive, and controlled. 

This is what happens when an elite college defense sends its best to Indianapolis. They easily separate, and the scary part is that Arvell Reese says he hasn’t scratched the surface yet. If that’s true, some NFL DC is about to get very lucky.