Sonny Styles has been popping so much in practice that Jim Knowles had to come up with a new name for the position he plays in his press conference Monday.
Styles has cemented himself as the starter at what is traditionally known as the nickel safety in Knowles’ 4-2-5 scheme, or in most schemes with five defensive backs for that matter. Given all that Styles brings to the spot, however, Knowles openly pondered a new name for it before the media Monday.
“Maybe I’ll call him a ‘strike,’” Knowles said. “Nickel, sam, strike. Maybe strike is a cool name. He’s definitely a combination of those two (nickel and sam).”
The Ohio native’s atypical blend of length, range and toughness allow him to match up favorably with a number of different looks from opposing offense, Knowles feels, and as such the team wants to make use of his talents on every down.
“He’s definitely a guy we’re going to have on the field as much as we can,” Knowles said. “He can match up to both 11 and 12 personnel when people bring in two tight ends. He gives us a lot more versatility.”
That versatility seems to be Styles’ main calling card.
During the spring he practiced at the team’s two high safety spots, adjuster and bandit, with the staff wanting to focus his abilities to the back end where his athleticism allowed him to roam the field.
Preseason camp came around, however, and Styles quickly switched to nickel. It allows Knowles to easily have him down in the box when needed.
“What I saw in Sonny is that he has the ability to play high safety, to play man coverage, but he also has the length and the toughness to play up close to the ball,” Knowles said. “So we play him in that nickel/strike position, now you have a lot more flexibility in terms of, ‘Is he man on the slot? Is he in zone? Is he outside, inside? Is he blitzing off the edge?’ He just creates a whole other dynamic.”
Lathan Ransom is expected to start alongside Styles at the team's boundary safety position in 2023, but the last spot at "adjuster" remains up for grabs.
Syracuse transfer Ja'Had Carter has been a leading candidate but has dealt with some injury issues through both spring and fall practice. Josh Proctor enters his sixth season at Ohio State looking for a potential breakout, while freshman Malik Hartford has made some waves throughout the offseason.
"I want to make sure that we solidify that other safety position," Knowles said. "Between Proctor and Malik and Ja'Had, I think that battle is still out there, so I want to make sure we solidify that."
Styles does have some experience playing a similar role to such a "strike" position at Ohio State. Against Georgia during last year's College Football Playoff, Styles came into the game as an in-the-box nickel safety to help guard star Bulldog tight ends Brock Bowers and Darnell Washington.
Between that contest, special teams and mop-up duty, Styles recorded nine tackles with one tackle for loss in 2022.
Now it will be about not putting too much on Styles’ plate as he continues learning the basics of playing said nickel safety position.
“I have to always balance creativity with the fundamentals necessary for playing a position and knowing what to do to be able to do it quickly,” Knowles said. “There is enough there to play around with in different spots.”
