When Arvell Reese sat down with reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine, he shared a detail about his development at Ohio State that hadn’t been widely reported.
Matt Patricia compared him to former New England Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins. And they didn’t just talk about the comparison. They studied it together.
Patricia pulled up film cutups of Collins and walked Reese through the tape, showing him how Collins used his length, athleticism, and versatility to become one of the NFL’s most disruptive defensive players. The message was clear: this is what you can be.
The Comparison in Context
For those unfamiliar with Collins’ career, the comparison is a significant one. Collins was a second-round pick in 2013 who became one of the league’s most versatile linebackers during his time with the Patriots. He could rush the passer off the edge, drop into coverage, and play downhill against the run. His ability to do all three at a high level made him a nightmare for offensive coordinators trying to game plan around him.
That profile fits Reese almost exactly. At 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, Reese has the frame and athleticism to play multiple roles in a defense. Under Matt Patricia’s coaching at Ohio State, he split time between off-ball linebacker and edge rusher, finishing the 2025 season with 69 tackles and 6.5 sacks while earning consensus All-American honors and Big Ten Linebacker of the Year.
The versatility that made Collins a valuable NFL defender is the same versatility that Patricia helped unlock in Reese at the college level. The film study wasn’t a casual comparison. It was a developmental blueprint.
From Non-First-Rounder to Top Five
What makes this story especially compelling is where Reese started. Entering the 2025 season, he was not a projected first-round pick. He had seen playing time as Ohio State’s third linebacker in 2024 but hadn’t been a full-time starter. Most draft boards had him as a mid-round prospect at best.
One season under Matt Patricia changed everything.
Reese’s breakout was built on the foundation Patricia laid in the meeting room. By studying Collins’ tape, Reese developed a mental framework for how to use his physical tools in multiple alignments. Patricia’s defensive scheme gave him the freedom to rush, cover, and play in space, all within the same game.
“I think he’s a huge reason why I played the way I play,” Reese said at the Combine. “Just gained a bunch of knowledge from him.”
Reese went further, explaining that Matt Patricia’s teaching was so thorough it gave him a rare level of defensive comprehension.
“With Coach Patricia’s defense, I’m able to explain all 11 positions with like 80, 90% of the calls,” Reese said.
That kind of schematic mastery is unusual for any college player, let alone one who was a relative unknown heading into his first year as a starter. NFL teams have taken notice. Kiper projects Reese in the top seven picks, and multiple teams, including the Jets, have already held formal meetings with him at the Combine.
The NFL Tape Library Meets College Development
What Matt Patricia did with Reese represents something unique in college coaching. Most college coordinators develop players by teaching their own system and refining technique through repetition. Patricia did that too. But he also reached into his extensive NFL film library and gave a college player a professional-level developmental roadmap.
That’s the advantage of having a coordinator who spent over 20 years in the NFL. Patricia doesn’t just know defensive concepts in theory. He has a real tape of real players executing those concepts at the highest level. And he used that resource to show Reese exactly what his ceiling could look like.
At the Combine, NFL.com’s recap highlighted the Collins comparison as one of the week’s most interesting details, noting that Patricia directly connected his NFL experience to Reese’s development at Ohio State.
“He meant everything to all of us,” Reese told SI.com. “He gave everybody an opportunity.”
The Jamie Collins blueprint was specific to Reese, but it reflects Matt Patricia’s broader coaching philosophy. Find out what each player does well. Show them what that skill set looks like at the highest level. Then build the scheme to let them play to those strengths.
For Reese, the blueprint worked. And it might just make him a top-five pick in April.