Ohio State linebacker Christian Alliegro loses black stripe

COLUMBUS — Another defensive transfer portal addition is flashing for Ohio State: linebacker Christian Alliegro lost his black stripe after practice Tuesday.

It’s a mark that he has officially joined the Ohio State football program; he’s the second defensive transfer and third overall to lose his black stripe since spring practice started three weeks ago.

Now six days of work into his Buckeyes career, the former Wisconsin star has taken the black stripe off and will only continue to get better.

Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia spoke about Alliegro, his ability to learn the defense and what Patricia has been putting on Alliegro’s plate last week.

“I think for linebackers and safeties, right, kind of categorize them in the same space with the communication through the middle of the field,” Patricia said about teaching his defense to a veteran like Alliegro. “If they’re just getting into the program where maybe they’re an older player and things are going to go fast, what you try to really do is like, hey, let me just teach you this one thing first. You know, let me see how you handle that.Let you get a little bit of confidence with that first. Then let me teach you this next thing. And then you build it that way.”

Now Christian Alliegro joins Earl Little Jr., a safety who transferred in from Florida State, as transfer additions to lose the black stripe since spring practice started.

Christian Alliegro joins Earl Little Jr., Kyle Parker as black stripes removed for Ohio State

Little has zipped through the learning curve that came with going from Florida State to the Ohio State program, shedding his black stripe after just five practices with the Buckeyes over the weekend. The black stripe removal, of course, signifies that Little is doing the right things early in his time in Columbus.

He was joined by LSU transfer wide receiver Kyle Parker as transfer additions to lose their stripe after practice Saturday.

Earl Little Jr. transferred in after a couple of years at Florida State. He initially went to Alabama out of high school.

The Miami native played in 36 games for Florida State, making 21 starts while demonstrating the kind of positional flexibility that’s become invaluable in modern college football. He lined up at safety, nickel and boundary corner during his career in Tallahassee, showing the football intelligence and physical tools to handle multiple roles. He began his career at Alabama, playing two seasons for Nick Saban. He also played alongside Ohio State captain Brandon Inniss in his high school days at American Heritage (Ft. Lauderdale.) High School.

Now with the Buckeyes, Little is beginning to turn heads.