INDIANAPOLIS –– Palaie Gaoteote is at Ohio State, but due to an ongoing eligibility issue, the USC transfer linebacker is not yet on scholarship.
The former five-star recruit had already been pictured with the football team in Columbus this offseason, having entered the transfer portal back in December of 2020, but at Big Ten Media Days Friday, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said there are still some hurdles to clear before Gaoteote will be good to go for the Buckeyes.
“He’s paying his own way right now,” Day said. “We’re gonna hear from the NCAA about his eligibility here maybe in a few weeks.”
Day said that Gaoteote is not barred from being a part of the team while this process unfolds, but that he simply will not be on scholarship until the issue is cleared up. Day did not go into further detail about the situation, although he did say that it is not necessarily a matter of the NCAA making Gaoteote jump through extraneous hoops following his transfer.
“This one’s a little bit different. This is not that,” Day said. “This is more of an eligibility situation.”
Gaoteote, who is the cousin of Ohio State fifth-year senior defensive tackle Haskell Garrett, played in just two games for the Trojans in 2020 as he dealt with multiple injury issues that kept him out of competition.
A Bishop Gorman product, Gaoteote was the No. 21 overall prospect in the class of 2018, ranked the No. 2 outside linebacker in the country.
Gaoteote made an immediate impact in the Pac-12 as a true freshman, recording 38 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks in seven games. In 2019, Gaoteote tallied 58 tackles, including three for loss, in eight games for the Trojans, as ankle injuries kept him out of several games.
All four of the Buckeyes top linebackers from the 2020 season –– Tuf Borland, Pete Werner, Baron Browning and Justin Hilliard –– have departed the program, which means position coach Al Washington will have a whole new corps of starters in 2021.
Teradja Mitchell, K’Vaughan Pope and Dallas Gant are three seniors that should see significant time, although Gant missed the spring with a leg injury.
Another Buckeye linebacker that suffered an injury during the spring was redshirt freshman Mitchell Melton, who may have a lengthy recovery process ahead of him after Day said it could be a “long-term” issue.
Fellow class of 2020 linebacker Cody Simon turned heads this spring with an uptick of reps next to Mitchell and company, and the former top 50 overall recruit may make an impact in Washington’s unit this season.
Fourth-year linebacker Craig Young moved into a hybrid role at the bullet position this spring, and exactly how much time the Buckeyes devote to the bullet on the field in 2021 remains to be seen.
There are plenty of moving parts in Washington’s group ahead of this season, but the addition of Gaoteote –– if he becomes eligible –– will only help matters in the middle of Kerry Coombs’ defense. However, exactly where he fits into the picture is not yet known.
