During a recent appearance breaking down his mock draft on “The Joel Klatt Show,” Joel Klatt touched on a theme that continues to shape how prospects are evaluated: experience and what it means at different positions.
While quarterbacks are often judged heavily on the number of starts they have under their belts and time spent developing, Klatt argued that the same standard doesn’t always apply to position players. He noted that a lack of experience can often be seen as a sign of greater potential, especially if a player hasn’t yet settled into the position best suited to them.
Arvell Reese Has the Tools to Be a Future NFL Star
That distinction led him to highlight one of the most intriguing defensive prospects in college football: Ohio State’s Arvell Reese.
“Arvell Reese has started one year at Ohio State,” Klatt said. “And Ryan Day was just shaving the tip of the iceberg, if you will, with what he can do.”
It’s a powerful statement, not just because of Reese’s limited starting experience, but because of what Klatt believes Reese still has left in the tank in terms of untapped potential. Under the guidance of Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, Reese began to show flashes of a player who can impact the game at every level in a multitude of ways. According to Klatt, this may only be the beginning of what we see him do on a football field.
Klatt took it a step further, describing Reese as a “Micah Parsons in waiting.” It’s a comparison that speaks less to current production and more to his trajectory. Parsons entered the NFL out of Penn State as an athletic, versatile linebacker who was still refining his identity.
Once he transitioned into a more consistent pass-rushing role after learning the nuances from professional coaching, his game reached another level entirely, unlocking All-Pro potential. Reese appears to be on a similar path, or at least in the same mold of clay that coaches can shape.
Early in his Ohio State career, Reese operated as a traditional stand-up linebacker, but his skill set has naturally expanded toward the edge with his elite athleticism. His explosiveness, length, and instincts make him equally disruptive rushing the passer or flowing sideline to sideline.
Reese himself has embraced that evolution, stating that he sees his future as an outside linebacker/edge hybrid. That versatility is precisely what makes him so valuable and so difficult to define. Rather than forcing a positional label too early, teams and evaluators are beginning to appreciate the advantage of letting a player like Reese develop organically.
In today’s defensive landscape, adaptability is a weapon. And Reese has already proven how dangerous that can be.
Last season, he played a pivotal role in leading one of the most dominant defenses in college football. Ohio State posted a 95.1 PFSN CFB Defensive Impact score, ranking fourth nationally. Reese’s ability to function as a “Swiss Army knife,” blitzing off the edge, dropping into coverage, and controlling the run game, was a major factor in that success.
His combination of production and potential has not gone unnoticed. Reese is currently ranked as a top-three player on the PFSN consensus big board, with many evaluators already listing him as an edge rusher at the next level, where he will eventually transition more full-time.
But perhaps the most exciting part of Reese’s profile is that there’s no urgency to lock him into a single role just yet. His game and knowledge are still expanding, and as Klatt suggested, we may have only seen a fraction of what he’s capable of becoming. Parsons wasn’t rushed into a specific role right away, so no need to do so for Reese.
If that development continues on its current trajectory, the “Micah Parsons in waiting” label may eventually feel less like a projection and more like an inevitability.
