What Glenville coach Ted Ginn Sr. sees in Ohio State football commit Arvell Reese
Colin GayTed Ginn Sr. remembers Arvell Reese first as an 8-year-old learning football for the first time.
And while Reese grew up to be a linebacker, spending his first three years of high school football at Euclid, the Glenville High football coach kept tabs on him, always knowing he had potential.
When Reese transferred to Glenville in December for his senior season, all Ginn wanted to do was help put the final touches on the linebacker’s potential.
“We just put it together,” Ginn said. “I’m just happy for him. He’s grown up and things have gotten into place for him.”
Arvell Reese: What new commit will bring to Ohio State football
Reese committed to Ohio State on Saturday, ending a fast-and-furious recruitment where offers from Alabama, Southern California, Penn State and Michigan rolled in after the linebacker transferred to Glennville.
To Ginn, the potential for Reece’s greatness started with his size.
Standing at 6 feet 3 and 212 pounds, Reese has “always been freakish,” Ginn said, combining size with athletic ability and speed, which they worked on when he first arrived at his school in December.
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“Just his ability to run and hit and attack," Ginn said. "I haven’t had a linebacker like that in years that can fill a hole that quick just naturally. When he really gets coached up, I can only imagine what it will be.”
Ginn said he feels those attributes will make Reese the next great Ohio State linebacker. But the Glenville coach also knows the responsibilities of jumping into the Buckeyes program.
Over the course of his storied tenure at Glenville, Ginn has developed a pipeline of talent between his program and Ohio State with players such as Marshon Lattimore, Chris Worley, Cardale Jones, Donte Whitner, Troy Smith and his son Ted Ginn Jr.
Ginn said he never cared where his players went to play at the next level. He’s more focused on his players' mentality heading into college.
“There’s always someone looking at you who wants to be like you," he said. "You have to be the example of hope for these people. And you have to understand that you are going somewhere to work and to serve. That’s what I think him and everyone else should be thinking about.”
As for continuing the Glenville-to-Ohio State pipeline, Ginn said the weight is solely on Reese’s shoulders.
“He has to represent the people that went before him," Ginn said. "It’s pressure. He will get pressure from right here. Because you are not just representing Arvell. You represent the whole community, a whole class of people who went there, and you have to stand up.”
It’s a pressure Reese realizes, saying after participating in Ohio State's summer recruiting camp June 14 that he gets reminded of that Glenville and Ohio State connection all the time, along with 2024 four-star cornerback Bryce West, with whome he is close.
Ginn will have only one full year with Reese. But he already knows what Ohio State is in store for.
“I think what we’re seeing now is just the tip of the iceberg,” Ginn said. “I think he can be world class.”