COLUMBUS, Ohio – Sonny Styles sits on the bench at the Fortress Obetz football complex in southeast Columbus.
He ties his shoes, looks up for a brief moment and when he stands, there’s no mistaking the type of athlete this Ohio native is. The physical superiority he has over the others in his position group at this Under Armour Camp Series is obvious from the get-go. And this is before the 6-foot-4 (pushing 6-foot-5) and 205-pound outside linebacker/safety/hybrid/whatever-the-hell position he is, goes to work.
Complete with a 6-foot-5 wingspan, Styles stands out the minute he walks on the field and the minute he joins the defensive backs group for one of his first competitive camp settings. Despite this being his first type of environment like this, he looks plenty comfortable.
First he rattles off a 4.67-second time in the 40-yard dash, which is good enough to rank No. 10 among all of the 100-plus athletes here, a group that includes running backs, receivers and some top-tier talent in his 2023 recruiting class. Then he powers through the three-cone drill and the 20-yard shuttle before he gets to the broad jump, where he once again shows off his incredible length with a broad jump of 10 feet, 5 inches. He almost cleared the entire strip laid down for the players.
“My feet, my heels were still on it. I think I could’ve gone a little farther, though,” Styles tells Eleven Warriors, smirking and laughing as if to say I’m not done yet.
And he wasn’t done yet.
To finish things off, Styles heads over to the one-on-one receiver vs. defensive back drills. Styles is rated as a five-star defensive back. He showed why with his athletic profile throughout the day, and he showcases it again on his final rep of the day.
After an up-and-down showing on his first three reps, including some slips as the drizzle picks up on this gray, windy Columbus day, Styles lets his man break free to the sideline. Doesn’t matter. Styles sprints over, using that closing speed and length to punch the ball out of the receiver’s hands and complete the day with a pass breakup.
“Yeah, I was mad,” Styles said. “I messed up my feet a little bit, but that happens. You just have to recover and play through the ball.”
All in a day’s work for Styles.
“It was all right,” Styles said of his one-day performance. “It was one of my first camps so it was something new. I haven’t really done this before, so it was just fun to come out and compete.”
Off camera, Styles breaks up this pass at the end after making his break pic.twitter.com/sBPO2zz6dK
— Zack Carpenter (@Zack_Carp) April 11, 2021
He’s ranked as the No. 23 overall player in the country and the No. 1 safety in America. That second ranking is impossible to improve upon, but that first rating is only headed up from here.
Last year in Obetz, it was Ohio State outside linebacker commit C.J. Hicks who was the breakout star of the Elite Underclassmen Camp. His performance that day began a journey in which Hicks went from being a four-star ranked No. 117 overall and outside the top eight in his position group all the way up to where he sits now less than a year after that camp – No. 18 overall, No. 2 at OLB nationally and a composite five-star.
Styles wasn’t the only prospect who blew us away physically, but he took that same breakout role that Hicks did last year. And what makes it scarier is that he’s only going to get better. It’s exciting to think about the potential of this already highly touted blue-chipper and what he could look like next April once he packs on muscle and mass to his frame.
Styles told us that on Sunday he “wasn’t really looking to improve anything. I was just looking forward to competing. I wasn’t worried about too much, just come out here and have fun and show my talent.”
And show that talent he did, earning an invitation to the Under Armour Future 50 competition in Orlando this summer along with five other of his fellow 2023 classmates.
What he didn’t do was provide a clear-cut answer – on the field or in interview sessions – about what position he is going to play at the next level. Even he’s not sure. And it doesn’t really matter all that much right now. Whatever position he plays, he’s an absolute must-get for Ohio State and its defensive staff as they recruit a player who will eventually be ranked in the top 10 overall and is a lock to be the state’s No. 1 prospect soon and all the way up until signing day.
“I think I’ll wind up playing an outside linebacker-slash-safety position, sort of a hybrid type of guy. That’s what I think I’ll be,” Styles said. “Being versatile on the defense (is my goal). I think Ohio State calls it the bullet position, that’s what they like me at. Just trying to play as many positions as I can and be versatile.”
Even though Ohio State’s usage of the bullet or the position’s existence itself has been in question for years, there is an insistence from Ryan Day and the Buckeye coaching staff that it exists. And there appears to be early returns during spring practice that it will be implemented at a much higher clip during the 2021 season, with Craig Young the early candidate to come on as a breakout candidate for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State must be pretty confident that Young could become a top-tier defensive player. Styles has been told by the staff to keep an eye on Young throughout the spring and fall to see what his own future may look like if he becomes a Buckeye.
“There’s a guy on the roster this year, a newer guy, they’ve been talking about him and the way he moves and some of the plays he’s been making in spring practice that they say I’m pretty similar,” Styles says before confirming it was Young who the staff told him about.
Over the next year or two, Ohio State is going to be battling against every program in the country in Styles’ recruitment, but the one that has already emerged among all others as the Buckeyes’ main competition is the Fighting Irish. The home of Styles’ older brother, 2021 receiver signee Lorenzo Styles Jr., Notre Dame also wants him to play its own bullet-style position as a hybrid OLB/safety called the rover.
That’s been the pitch from safeties coach Chris O’Leary and new defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Marcus Freeman, a former All-Big Ten linebacker at Ohio State and former Buckeyes graduate assistant who is a rising star in the college coaching ranks.
“I’ve been talking to him a little bit, I haven’t got to talk to him that much,” Styles said. “He’s been pretty cool. He’s got a lot of knowledge of the game, and I’m really looking forward to getting to know him.”
Notre Dame has made Styles as high of a priority as the Buckeyes have, and Styles is as much of a must-get for the Irish as he is for his home state program. But you absolutely cannot let Styles get out of the state, and Ohio State’s staff has been making its early, concerted push ever since Styles’ very first varsity game at Pickerington Central last August.
That brigade features the quartet of Ryan Day, Kerry Coombs, Tim Hinton and Al Washington, but it’s the Buckeye linebackers coach who is leading the charge.
“Coach Coombs, I talked to him briefly on Zoom, but Coach Washington I talk to him a lot,” Styles said. “I’ve been talking to him since August. I’ve gotten to know him, but we’re just looking forward to meeting in person and me getting on campus.”
This is a recruitment that should pick up some in the summer once the NCAA dead period is vanquished and visits are allowed. As of now, Styles doesn’t have any visit dates set up, but he “plans on” getting to Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State and others.
Ohio State and Notre Dame will likely be his first two visits with familiarity and proximity factoring in. His father, Lorenzo Sr., played at Ohio State, and his brother will be making his own recruiting pitches.
“There’s really no pressure,” Styles said. “My dad went to Ohio State, and my brother recruited me and he went to Notre Dame. I’m free to go wherever I want. They’re not pushing me to go anywhere, it’s all on me.”
