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LB Alex “Sonny” Styles (Official Thread)

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Will Sonny Styles be the key to taking Ohio State’s defense to the next level?​

Styles has had a lot of people buzzing with his performance this Spring and Summer.

Here is what Allen Trieu, a national recruiting analyst for 247 Sports, had to say about Styles coming out of high school.

“(Styles) is a physical prototype with height, and length and is already well into his physical development as a high school junior,” Trieu said. “He is strong in his lower body. Changes directions and runs a straight line very well for a player of his size. He is smooth in his transitions and is capable of playing in space and even covering man-to-man at 210 pounds. Shows good ball skills and hands. The question is, in the long term, will he grow into an outside linebacker even though he has the athletic skills to play safety, or will be some kind of hybrid? If he is to move into the box, he will have to show he can take on blocks and be physical with offensive linemen and lead blockers. The likelihood is he continues to grow toward being in the front seven but will be a unique athlete at that spot who can still move around and play different roles. The possibilities for him are numerous because of a rare skill set and measurables.”

He also said he has first-round pick potential and compared him to Arizona Cardinal and former Clemson Tiger Isaiah Simmons.
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As the Buckeyes move into a season where the defense should be remarkably better (I said should be), Styles has already locked up a starting spot at the Nickel position, according to Knowles.

“That has been made mainly a third corner, DB type of spot for me,” Knowles told reporters.

“And then you get into a lot of situations where there’s still a tight end in that matchup there and not a slot. And then you’re kind of just trying to hold up with a nickel. And what I saw in Sonny is that he has the ability to play high safety, to play man coverage, but he also has the length and the toughness to play up close to the ball. So, you play him in that nickel, strike position, and now you have a lot more flexibility in terms of ‘OK, is he man on the slot, is he zone, is he inside, is he outside, is he blitzing off the edge?’

Knowles added that Styles “just creates a whole ‘nother dynamic.”
 
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  • “When Lathan went down, that hurt us. I had to step up and play that boundary safety, so going from 30 plays to 70 plays, that’s a little bit of an adjustment, but I think I did fine. … My body feels good. … It was a bigger role. When Proctor went down, it was me trying to step up and be more of a leader in the secondary.”
  • On being a veteran in the defensive back room with Ransom and Proctor out last week: “It’s funny to say that. With Proctor and Lathan going down, I feel like I had to step up a little bit. Obviously, Denzel (Burke) and (Davison Igbinosun) are leaders in our secondary, but I feel like I had to step up for the safety room and be a leader.”
  • On which safety position makes him the most comfortable: “I’ve always been familiar with all three spots. … I am able to process and execute at each position.”
  • On Jordan Hancock: “Jordan is a really good player. He’s able to cover well like a corner and he’s able to get in the run fit when he needs to. It’s been really big the amount of depth we’ve had in the secondary. Malik (Hartford) had to step up for Proctor when he went down. He executed. He did well. We have a lot of guys who are game-ready and ready to play.”
  • On the attitude Ohio State has had this season: “The attitude is that it’s about us each game. We know what it felt like to come up short last year. We’ve made a big emphasis on not leaving anything out on the field… and going as hard as you can. As a defense, we’ve emphasized eliminating explosives on our mistakes. We can’t give them free plays. If they’re gonna get a play, we have to make them earn it.”
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Quick Hits: Kyle McCord is “Spoiled” With Talent Around Him, Parker Fleming Acknowledges Mistakes Made on Special Teams and Sonny Styles Says Ohio State's Stretch Run is “About Us”

Kyle McCord says he's “spoiled” with talent around him, Parker Fleming sees good and bad in Ohio State's special teams and Matt Jones is glad he returned for a sixth year.
www.elevenwarriors.com www.elevenwarriors.com
 
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Sonny reminds me of a NE Ohio legend from Warren Harding.... Joey Browner. Similar body and style. Incidentally, Warren and Sharon, PA, where Sonny's dad is from share similar water channels. So, loose connection.... but
 
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OHIO STATE WILL PERUSE ITS OPTIONS FOR WHERE TO PLAY SONNY STYLES, JOSH FRYAR THIS SPRING​

A key part of that evaluation is exploring any potential position changes that could make sense. Two are top of mind for Ohio State: Sonny Styles and Josh Fryar.

Styles was the No. 1 safety in the 247Sports composite rankings for the recruiting class of 2022 despite reclassifying to graduate a year early. But last year brought questions about his long-term viability at the safety position.

Styles started at nickel for the first half of last season, rotating with Jordan Hancock at the position. Hancock proved much more adept at guarding slot receivers and dropping back into zone coverage, making Styles more of an option against multiple-tight end sets where he could almost play as a third linebacker.

Following an injury to Lathan Ransom during Ohio State’s eighth game of the season, Styles took over as bandit safety for the Buckeyes’ homestretch. However, there were struggles for the Ohio native, who looked uncomfortable in deep zone coverage and taking angles on runners in the open field, which showed up in the Buckeyes’ losses against both Michigan and Missouri.

That’s why a move to linebacker could make sense.

“We’ve had conversations with Sonny and he has a lot of flexibility to do a lot of different things, which is great,” Ryan Day said. “He’s embracing some of those things. So as we get into spring, we’ll start to figure out exactly how those will all shake out. But when you see Sonny, he has the flexibility to do multiple different things.”
 
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