Tag: Sonny Styles

Watch: Ohio State’s Sonny Styles talks about position change from safety to linebacker

Big things are expected from the new Buckeyes linebacker. #GoBucks

In a move that many have been asking for, Ohio State football finally made the change for [autotag]Sonny Styles[/autotag] this spring, from safety to linebacker.

At 6-foot, 4-inches and 235-pounds, the son of former Buckeye linebacker, Lorenzo Styles, physically fits the mold of a linebacker. The need for him to play the position wasn’t paramount his first two seasons, but as Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers are moving onto the professional ranks, it made sense.

Styles got a chance to speak with the media on Thursday about the change, and his comments were telling. “I love it, I love competing with the linebackers,” was how he started off his answer.

In the weight room, he was spot on, he was expected to beat all of them considering his size compared to theirs. The competition aspect is huge, and now Styles has that in his new room. Expectations have changed as well, as he should see the field often in his new position.

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Which Ohio State football players earned their Buckeye leaves against Penn State?

Which Buckeyes earned their helmet decals against Penn State?

For 60 minutes on Saturday, Ohio State football was in a battle with visiting Penn State, and earned a gritty, hard fought 20-12 victory in front of a raucous home crowd.

With another win in the book, the Buckeyes seventh of the season, you will see plenty more Buckeye leaf decals on players helmets next week as they visit Wisconsin. (We’re getting to the point of the year where some players are almost full!)

Some of those players get them for team achievements, but these players highlighted below earned them for their individual play in our own personal grading scale. Check out who we thought played the best football for Ohio State on Saturday and deserves new helmet decals.

Ten Ohio State football players who earned their Buckeye leaves against Maryland

Which Buckeyes stood out to you today? #GoBucks

[autotag]Ohio State football[/autotag] shook off their first half bland play to surge ahead of [autotag]Maryland[/autotag] in the second half, to earn a 37-17 win in front of a home crowd.

While the score looks good, there were still aspects of the game that have left much more to be desired. With that said, there was still plenty of good to come out of this win. That does happen when you still come out victorious, while not playing your best.

We will see more Buckeye decals on Ohio State players helmet’s next week against [autotag]Purdue[/autotag] and here are ten players that earned their’s for their play against Maryland.

Two Ohio State football players named to Bruce Feldman’s college football freaks list

Ohio State football had two players named to Bruce Feldman’s college football ‘freaks list.’ You can probably guess one of them.

Every year Bruce Feldman of the Athletic (subscription required) puts out a list highlighting the best athletes in college football headed into the season.  It is always very interesting to look at because it includes star players, as well as players with a lot of potential yet to emerge as household names.

Feldman recently released his full freaks list for this season which had 25 players total named, including two Ohio State players.

The first Buckeye to make the list is Marvin Harrison Jr. at No. 2 on the list.  Harrison Jr. is an obvious choice for this list because he is a very unique talent.  His speed, explosiveness and ability to change directions at his size is at a higher level than any receiver in recent memory in college football.

The other Buckeye to make the list is Sonny Styles who was checked in at No. 20 on the Freaks list.  Though Styles is just 18 years old and doesn’t turn 19 until November, he is already set to play a big role on Ohio State’s defense this fall.

Styles was a five-star recruit and a top 20 player in the 2022 class.  His size at 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, combined with his movement skills make him perfectly suited to excel in both run defense and coverage in a hybrid linebacker safety role.

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Five Ohio State defenders poised for a breakout 2023 season

Who makes the leap for the Buckeye defense this year? #GoBucks

After looking at which [autotag]Ohio State football[/autotag] offensive players are primed for a breakout, it is time to give the other side of the ball the same treatment.

There are questions on this side of the ball for the Buckeyes, but they still return major contributors like defensive end J.T. Tuimoloua, and linebackers Tommy Eichenberg and [autotag]Steele Chambers[/autotag].

Defensive coordinator [autotag]Jim Knowles[/autotag] is entering his second year at the position and there should be a jump in production from players for multiple reasons, such as experience in the system. Find out which five players I believe are going to explode on the scene in 2023.

247Sports thinks this former 5-star Ohio State player is ‘on the verge of a breakout’

The breakout train is departing from the station, get on #GoBucks

Anytime you are given the five-star moniker, there are high expectations. They are even higher when you arrive on a campus such as [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag]’s.

Rising sophomore [autotag]Sonny Styles[/autotag] had that designation when he signed with the Buckeyes. On the outside, it appears he didn’t live up to it after registering just 9 tackles and 1 tackle-for-loss during his true freshman season.

That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Styles impressed late in the year and played a significant amount against Georgia in the [autotag]College Football Playoff[/autotag] semifinal. 247Sports Robbie Weinstein is high on his progress as well. Styles was named one of the former five-stars on schedule.

As the tweet and Weinstein writes, Styles graduated early, reclassified and enrolled early to Ohio State. He should have been a senior in high school last year, but he was out on the field for the Buckeyes.

Weinstein noted his “impressive agility for his size, Styles can play all over the field and isn’t necessarily a true safety. That versatility should help Styles earn more snaps in 2023, regardless of whether he starts. Stock up here, Styles could be on the verge of a breakout season in Columbus.”

It hard to disagree with that sentiment. Many, including me, expect Styles to become a household name this fall.

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The five top-rated Ohio State safety recruits since 2000

The five top-rated Ohio State safety recruits since 2000 #GoBucks

We have been diving into some of the more highly touted recruits in Ohio State history. We recently discussed the quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, offensive tackles, guards, center, defensive ends, defensive tackles, inside linebackers, outside linebackers, and cornerbacks We wanted to look into the history of recruiting safeties.

Some exciting names are on this list. Even though 247Sports‘ recruiting rankings only go back to 2000, there are some memorable names. It is always fun to reflect on how some of these guys performed and whether they lived up to expectations.

This list only confirms the insane wealth of talent Ohio State has had at the safety position. Some of the guys that just missed the cut are Erick Smith, a prized recruit from Glenville, Dustin Fox, who started all four years, and Josh Proctor, who is coming back for his last season in 2023.

College football: Former Notre Dame starter transfers to Ohio State

He’ll be reuniting with his brother there, too.

When Notre Dame hosts Ohio State in late September the connections between the two programs will run deep. [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] obviously wore scarlet and gray in college and now heads the Fighting Irish football program.  Meanwhile [autotag]James Laurinaitis[/autotag] recently went from being a graduate assistant at Notre Dame to the same post under Ryan Day at Ohio State.

Add another to the mix as former Notre Dame wide receiver [autotag]Lorenzo Styles[/autotag], Jr. has announced his next home – none other than Ohio State.  Styles entered the transfer portal the day before Notre Dame’s spring game and announced his decision this weekend.  At Ohio State he’ll be teammates with his younger brother [autotag]Sonny Styles[/autotag] who plays in the Buckeyes secondary.

Styles, Lorenzo that is, is one of 14 players from Notre Dame’s 2021 recruiting class that is no longer with the program.  He has stated he wants to make the transition to defensive back which will probably be a good idea if he wants to see much of the field as nobody has recruited and developed the receiver position better than Ohio State in recent years.

Notre Dame is set to host Ohio State on Sept. 23.

See some of the best photos of Styles during his time at Notre Dame below.

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Ohio State Spring Game: halftime three and out

Ohio State Spring Game: halftime three and out #GoBucks

Welcome back to Ohio State football season, the Buckeyes kicked off the Scarlet and Gray game of 2023 and we finally get our first look at the 2023 squad. Everyone expects Ohio State to be back in the National Championship hunt, but they have a lot of questions that need to be answered.

With the injury to quarterback, Devin Brown keeping him out of the spring game, it will be the Kyle McCord show and will likely give him another leg up to become the starter on opening day, but has he truly shined yet? The Buckeyes also will miss a ton from the offensive line, but unfortunately with the semi-half-speed nature of the trenches, it is best to leave judgment on that unit until later. Below are three takeaways from the first half of the spring game.

 

This clip from Ohio State’s spring practice gives hope for defensive back improvement

This group has to be better this fall, doesn’t it? #GoBucks

This past season the Ohio State cornerbacks did not fare well at all. The group totaled no interceptions and had plenty of costly penalties called on them as they rarely looked for the ball while it was in the air.

It seems like Buckeye defensive coordinator [autotag]Jim Knowles[/autotag] and secondary coach [autotag]Tim Walton[/autotag] are trying to fix that. In this clip shared on Twitter by Dan Hope, it looks like the group is making a much more concerted effort to look for the ball while it’s in the air.

The Ohio State secondary will have plenty of different names roaming the backend of the defense, some new (Davison Igbinosun and Ja’Had Carter) and some old ([autotag]Sonny Styles[/autotag] and [autotag]Denzel Burke[/autotag]). The hope is that this mix of new and old in the 2023 season will have much better results.

If Ohio State can figure things out on the back end of the defense and limit some of those big plays we saw the last couple of years, there could be a lot of memorable moments playing for some pretty special things this coming season.

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