For a defense looking to improve upon it's 2022 body of work, primarily by putting up some resistance against elite opponents and not just the also-rans, Ohio State plans to lean heavily on veterans in Year Two of the Jim Knowles Experience.
Fifth-year middle linebacker Tommy Eichenberg will anchor the ’safety-driven' defense while fifth-year weakside linebacker Steele Chambers slots alongside him as the top two tacklers from last season. Fourth-year linebacker Cody Simon is fighting for backup snaps at both spots.
Fourth-year safety Lathan Ransom is a lock to lead the back line at strong safety while fourth-year player and recent transfer Ja'Had Carter is getting first-team free safety reps in practice. Another fourth-year guy, Cam Martinez, could be in the mix at nickel safety.
On the wings, third-year corner Denzel Burke is the clear-cut No. 1 corner while third-year man Jordan Hancock is currently holding down the other starting cornerback spot.
In the trenches, it's third-year players galore as defensive ends JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer and defensive tackles Mike Hall, Tywone Malone and Tyleik Williams join fourth-year tackle Ty Hamilton in a bid for heavy snaps.
With all those veterans crowding the two-deep, it's hard to envision many second-year guys making a big impact this fall. Chief among them appear to be safety Sonny Styles, linebacker C.J Hicks, defensive ends Kenyatta Jackson and Caden Curry and cornerback Davison Igbinosun.
Though it's early in fall camp and of course we haven't heard from all the position groups yet, the defensive staff sure seems high on a pair of Ohio kids that headlined the 2022 class in Styles and Hicks.
Hailing from the Buckeye State is just one of the many similarities between the two.
Styles, a Pickerington product, and Hicks, a Dayton kid, both entered the program as five-star recruits. Hicks was the No. 7 overall player in 247Sports’ composite rankings while Styles slotted 12th. Both were ranked as the No. 1 prospect at their respective positions.
The pair entered the program as 215-pounders and both now clock in at 230 pounds.
Last year, both primarily saw action on kickoff and/or kickoff return teams while biding their time for defensive run, though Styles did log 67 defensive snaps compared to zero for Hicks.
Looking forward to this season, the optimism surrounding the duo's talent and versatility indicates they'll have a chance to carve out more meaningful roles, Styles in particular.
After reclassifying into the 2022 class, Styles steadily impressed the staff with his versatility, culminating in 12 snaps in the Peach Bowl loss to Georgia after previously only seeing double-digit snaps in early season blowouts against Toledo (11) and Michigan State (12).
The 2022 experience helped him launch into the 2023 season with a strong spring camp, and now he's getting first-team snaps in the early portion of fall camp. Maybe more notably than the first-team status itself is that it's coming in the nickel safety spot that would call for him to at times cover slot receivers. That would seem like a tall task for a 230-pounder, but Knowles didn't sound the least bit concerned earlier this week.
“Don't assume anything with Sonny,” Knowles said when asked about the assumption that Styles would play strong safety rather than nickel. “He's extremely talented and he can do it all. Sonny’s out there because that's where we want him.”
Hicks offered a similar refrain. “You don't see many 6-foot-4, 230-pound linebackers, well, not linebackers – he can play linebacker – but free safeties who can play as many positions as he can. We put him at nickel, we put him at strong, put him at free, at Sam, and probably could play Jack so he's very versatile. He's grown (mentally) a lot since last year."
So while Styles lining up at the starting nickel safety spot might have raised an eyebrow or two, it seems that's his home for now, though Knowles could of course bounce him around the field based on the opponent's scheme and roster to best utilize his vast skill set. Either way, Sonny looks destined for starter’s reps this fall.
For his part, Hicks is trying to showcase his own versatility, though his path to starter snaps is muddy for the time being. His natural position is Will linebacker and you have to believe that will be his starting job once Chambers moves on but for now, Hicks is targeting reserve snaps there and hopefully some time in the Jack position.
"Jack can show how versatile I am," Hicks noted earlier this week. "Show that I can come off the edge but also drop in coverage. I like the Jack. If you turn on my high school tape, it's similar to what I did in high school."
Hicks is also encouraged by the feeling Knowles expects more from him than he did last year.
“He’s starting to expect more out of me. I can tell. He and I have that relationship now that we can talk business but also talk about stuff outside of football and how it correlates to football and the Jack and Will and things like that,” Hicks said.
And while Chambers has a handle on the starting Will spot, he's encouraged by Hicks' potential.
“Unlimited. He can do whatever he wants, honestly. He's really stacking up right now,” Chambers said.
As Styles and Hicks continue carving out their futures at Ohio State, the similarities will likely only grow in a way that not only benefits them but fans as well. There's little reason to believe both can't eventually gain all-conference honors and All-American consideration while emerging as leaders on defenses that could sit alongside lethal offenses as part of Ohio State's annual pursuit of Big Ten and national titles.
