After spending his for two years as a Buckeye at safety, now is the perfect time for Styles to move to linebacker
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Sonny Styles is in line for a huge season after moving to linebacker
After spending his for two years as a Buckeye at safety, now is the perfect time for Styles to move to linebacker
Growing up in Pickerington and being the son of a former Buckeye, Sonny Styles was on the radar of Ohio State fans for quite some time before committing to the school, choosing the Buckeyes over schools like Clemson, Florida, and Notre Dame. Not only was Styles a five-star football recruit in high school, but he was also an outstanding basketball player, leading to some dreaming of Styles playing for the Ohio State basketball team after football season ended.
Originally Styles was a part of Ohio State’s 2023 recruiting class, but he reclassified and graduated after his junior season, allowing him to move into the 2022 recruiting class of the Buckeyes. Not only did Styles enroll in classes at Ohio State in June 2022, he played most of his freshman season as a 17-year-old since he didn’t turn 18 until November. Styles appeared in 12 games as a freshman, recording nine tackles, with one of those stops being behind the line of scrimmage.
Heading into the 2023 season, Styles was the nickel safety in Jim Knowles’ defense but was forced to strong safety when starter Lathan Ransom was injured. While Styles finished with 53 tackles, including career-high games of seven tackles against Rutgers and Michigan, the writing has been on the wall for a while that the future for Styles is at linebacker because of his size. The move likely would have happened earlier but with Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers at linebacker over the last few years, Knowles had to find any way he could to get Styles on the field because of his tremendous physical abilities.
Now with Eichenberg and Chambers having graduated, this is the perfect time for Styles to move to linebacker ahead of his junior season. Returning starter Cody Simon is slated to occupy one of the linebacker spots in Knowles’ 4-2-5 defense, while Styles and C.J. Hicks are “neck-and-neck” for the other starting spot according to Knowles. Styles does have a bit of an edge because he has been on the field a lot more in his career than Hicks, who has struggled to live up to the hype that surrounded him coming out of high school.
What will also be a huge benefit to Styles as he moves to linebacker is he has one of the best linebackers to ever wear the scarlet and gray coaching him. After spending last season as a graduate assistant on the coaching staff, James Laurinaitis was named Ohio State’s linebackers coach during the offseason. Not only will the knowledge Laurinaitis has for playing linebacker be immeasurable for Styles’ transition to the position, but the infectious energy and heart Laurinaitis played with, and now coaches with will drive Styles to reach his full potential and beyond.
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