Notre Dame has made some very positive recruiting inroads in Ohio recently, with a 2021 signees Lorenzo Styles Jr. and Mitchell Evans and 2023 commit Brennan Vernon. The familiarity in the Styles household has really given Brian Kelly and the Irish a leg up recruiting Lorenzo’s younger brother Sonny’s recruitment.
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Even though their father played for the Buckeyes, that didn’t stop Lorenzo from signing with a different Midwest power and it seems like that might be the case with Sonny as well.
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In a recent interview the younger Styles broke down what may be an extremely obvious advantage that Notre Dame has over Ohio State, Marcus Freeman.
Sonny recently told (subscription required) Bill Kurelic that the two programs have “a lot of similarities. Position wise what they want me to play is pretty similar. The two defensive coordinators are kind of different. Coach Freeman is a younger guy but very successful.”
Although he didn’t discount OSU’s defensive coordinators NFL experience, Kerry Combs is certainly older than Freeman, he’s turning 60 later this fall. With Freeman just entering his mid-thirties, at 35, this could be seen as an advantage over the Buckeyes in Styles recruitment.
Will it be the determining factor? Probably not, but any advantage that the Irish can get over Ohio State is a welcome one.