Sudden perspective led linebacker Payton Pierce to Ohio State commitment
COLUMBUS — Payton Pierce didn’t expect to commit — let alone to Ohio State — so soon.
The four-star Lucas (Texas) Lovejoy linebacker had only visited Ohio State once before he announced his commitment on April 11. While everything about the March 25 visit impressed Pierce, he had built up relationships with multiple coaches on staff including James Laurinaitis and Jim Knowles.
But not even those relationships brought him to the realization Ohio State was home.
It was his best friend, Sam Reynolds.
Reynolds is a teammate of Pierce’s both in football and wrestling. They have spent considerable time together both in sports and away from the field, but Reynolds was forced away from athletics for the time being. He was diagnosed with leukemia earlier this spring.
And it was the diagnosis of his friend that caused Pierce to sit down and consider his future.
“You can look at the whole situation with my friend Sam and realize you can’t take anything for granted,” Pierce told Lettermen Row. “[Life] can be over whenever at any moment. And so I know where I want to be. I have a place, that’s where my heart is and I’ve realized, why wait?
“That’s just the perspective I’ve gotten from this. If there’s something you want to do, go do it. Don’t hesitate.”
Pierce no longer has to play the recruiting game. There are no more weekend visits to programs. No more meetings with coaches and photo shoots in uniforms he won’t wear on Saturdays.
There are instead trips to the hospital to see Reynolds go through his treatments. There will be conversations between the two of them hopefully going to Columbus this fall to see a game in Ohio Stadium.
And most important, there are more opportunities to make memories with a friend that will last a lifetime.
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Reynolds’ diagnosis was certainly the catalyst behind Pierce making his decision, but there are of course other reasons why. Namely those relationships with the coaches at Ohio State.
He carried over his relationship with Laurinaitis from when the now-Ohio State defensive assistant was at Notre Dame. The relationship only intensified with Laurinaitis back at his alma mater where every word in his recruiting pitch was backed by a serious, real love for Ohio State.
From there Pierce built up his relationships with Knowles and head coach Ryan Day.
That’s why when the linebacker called Ohio State to let it know of his decision, he formed a three-way FaceTime call with the trio of coaches.
“They were all really happy and so was I,” Pierce said. “It was a great call.”
“After that call, coach Laurinaitis called me personally and we talked about the commitment and what the future is going to look like.”
Part of that future is going to look like plenty of tackles as the Buckeyes’ starting Mike linebacker in a few years.
The larger, more important part of that future, however, is making sure that Sam is there with him.
Friends of the Reynolds family have set up a GoFundMe to help with the financial aid for Sam’s treatments. Any and all donations go directly to the Reynolds family.
