Even as five-star prospects, the battle for playing time as freshmen will be an uphill one for C.J. Hicks and Sonny Styles this season.
The seventh-rated player in the country out of high school, Hicks is competing against a surplus of veterans, transfers and returning starters who are all vying for playing time at the two inside linebacker spots for the Buckeyes. Styles, the 12th-ranked recruit in the nation, should technically still be awaiting to play his senior season at Pickerington Central. The 6-foot-4 safety reclassified into the 2022 class back in December.
But as green as Ohio State’s two top-rated freshmen may be, their lack of experience hasn’t stopped them from turning heads on the practice field at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
An early enrollee who arrived on campus back in January, Hicks has had several more months than Styles to make an impression on his coaches and teammates. Asked about the Dayton native Tuesday, Jim Knowles and the Buckeye linebacker corps weren’t shy in their praise for Hicks’ work thus far.
“C.J., I mean, man, his upside is fantastic. He really has a great quickness and athleticism that you don't see out of many linebackers at that size,” said Knowles, who enters his first season as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. “So it's just a matter of how quickly can he learn, get himself up to speed so that he can use those tools. Sometimes when you're thinking too much, you can't use your tools, right? So we just keep working with C.J. so that he gets it down, so he can really cut it loose, but I think his upside is gonna be amazing.”
Listed at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds out of Archbishop Alter High School, Hicks lacked the size of a true downhill thumper at inside linebacker in the Big Ten. But he’s already packed on 10 more pounds during his time in Columbus, and that increased weight combined with his natural athleticism has yielded impressive results.
Steele Chambers, Ohio State’s projected Week 1 starter at the Will spot, only confirmed that notion when asked about the heralded freshman on Tuesday.
“He's a great athlete. Sometimes he'll get out there and he'll make first-, second-team guys look silly,” Chambers said. “I mean, he's he's a great guy, great competitor, great athlete, just great overall person. He's doing really good out there, you can see it translate.”
Cody Simon, who started 10 games at linebacker last season for the Buckeyes, acknowledged Hicks still has plenty of room to grow. But he also said the first-year defender has been productive during his preseason camp even if he’s still only learning the ropes.
“C.J., he's a great ballplayer. He's young and he's still learning, but he's physical and he can go,” Simon said. “Like his bursts, he can make some plays and he's already made plays out in camp so far.”
Hicks was the sixth name Knowles mentioned when discussing inside linebacker depth Tuesday, after mentioning Tommy Eichenberg, Chambers, Simon, Teradja Mitchell and Chip Trayanum. Each of those players have multiple years of college football experience at their disposal, but Hicks may have the highest ceiling of them all.
As for Styles, the possibilities for how he may be used in Ohio State’s defensive scheme are tantalizing for Knowles. Unlike other five-star talents, Styles’ reclassification may put less pressure on the Buckeye coaching staff to play him right away, given the time required to physically adapt to the next level.
"In terms of the future, it's gonna be bright and it's gonna be a lot of fun with the things we're able to do with him.”– Jim Knowles on Sonny Styles
That hasn’t stopped him from making plays during his first college practices, though.
“Oh, (he's been) great. Sonny's really been impressive. I mean, he's a guy who studies, learns, always in there,” Knowles said. “He literally ripped the ball out from the running back the other day, playmaker, showing up in the right (spots), picking things up. Sometimes you see young guys and until you ask me, I don't ever remember yelling at him, except for positive things. I don't remember him making a mistake, and for a young guy that's fantastic. So I think Sonny's gonna be great.
“(He can do) all kinds of stuff. I don't want to put too much on him yet because I want to get him into the flow. But in terms of the future, it's gonna be bright and it's gonna be a lot of fun with the things we're able to do with him.”
Even before he’s truly settled into the program, Simon said “you never really know” where Styles will be on the field due to his versatile build. Knowles said Styles’ maturity at such a young age is “mind-blowing” and “above his years.”
Knowles has branded his defense as “safety-driven” on a number of occasions since touching down in Columbus, and there’s little doubt about his level of excitement to have a young talent of Styles’ caliber operating one of those spots in the near future. But Knowles isn’t ready to label Styles an adjuster, bandit or nickel – or perhaps a hybrid position all his own – just yet.
As far as where he’ll fit in positionally on the Buckeye defense, Knowles said it’s still too early to make a true distinction.
“Too soon to tell. He’s gonna be a secret weapon,” Knowles said.
Ohio State fans likely have a little while to wait before seeing Hicks and Styles at the forefront of the Silver Bullets, but the early returns should only add to the anticipation.
