A course of development still lies ahead for Sonny Styles.
For all the progress he made transitioning from safety to linebacker in spring practice and preseason camp, nothing matches in-game reps. His first month starting at linebacker has included a start at all three of Ohio State's linebacker positions: Will, his primary spot where he's spent a majority of his snaps; Mike, where he started in place of Cody Simon in Week 1; and Sam, as the Buckeyes used their three-linebacker package heavily against Michigan State in last weekend’s 38-7 win.
Styles hasn’t been perfect in his first four games as a linebacker. But because Jim Knowles believes in who Styles is as a player and person, the defensive coordinator places any mistakes the junior makes on himself.
"I'm very pleased with Sonny," Knowles said. "I think he's being put into a lot of different situations. Playing Sam, playing Will, he's played Mike. All of those positions have their nuances to them. And I know this, that sometimes when you see him or any of our players being off on a play or looking like they're out of position, that to me goes back to me and training and coaching."
Knowles has moved safeties to linebacker before and did so successfully with Malcolm Rodriguez at Oklahoma State. Rodriguez started his career at safety and turned into a key player by his third year under Knowles in 2019, with 103 tackles and an interception. Out of need, he switched to Will linebacker for the Cowboys in 2020. Rodriguez built off a solid year during COVID-19 with 82 tackles and three sacks in 11 games to a big 2021 where he earned first-team All-Big 12 honors with 130 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and three sacks with an interception and four forced fumbles. The Detroit Lions scooped him up in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft and he has 124 tackles with two sacks thus far in his career, the second of which came on Monday.
Styles and Rodriguez have different physical profiles. Styles is 6-4, 235 pounds while Rodriguez was 5-11, 225 when he played at the other OSU. Rodriguez was also a starting safety for two years before moving to linebacker whereas Styles had only been a starter for one, rotating at nickel with Jordan Hancock in the first half of last season before sliding back to strong safety in the back half of the campaign to replace an injured Lathan Ransom.
That said, there’s an expectation for players to come along more rapidly at Ohio State.
"Malcolm, he was on the top of his game in year three," Knowles said. "I think Sonny and Malcolm are a little different. You can look at them and see that. And plus, at Ohio State, we don't have time for year three. So Sonny's in an accelerated program, that's all I can say, and it's just going to keep getting better."
There have certainly been coachable moments in Styles’ first four games as a linebacker that could use correction.
It's clear Styles, the linebacker nearest the camera in the above clip, has been slow to react on some plays. On this run, which some may have already seen in yesterday's Stock Up/Down, Styles doesn't fill the open C-gap in nearly enough time, then gets blocked as Michigan State rattles off its longest run of the game.
But moments like that where the Pickerington, Ohio product isn't decisive on what to do require the coaches to improve more than anyone, Knowles reiterated.
"That's how you have to be accountable, I believe, as a coach," Knowles said. "Because we have really good players and really good kids, and Sonny is one of them. Meaning they're good and they listen. So when you have that combination, then it goes back to coaching. So I would say that Sonny in particular, he's employing a myriad of different techniques playing all three of those positions. And there's a lot of nuance to it."
There was also a play later in the game where Styles lost Michigan State tight end Jack Velling in man coverage, only for Hancock to chase Velling down and punch the football out. Styles recovered the fumble.
Love this effort from CB Jordan Hancock #7 to rip the ball out.
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) September 29, 2024
(Will Howard gave it right back, but still a big time play) pic.twitter.com/Avz8Rwyetq
There have been positives for Styles at linebacker. He's Ohio State's leading tackler with 23 through four games and he's added a sack. Even with some mistakes alongside those plays, Ryan Day is among those impressed with Styles’ progress so far.
"I think he's made that transition pretty rapidly," Day said. "That's a big move to go from safety to linebacker. You've seen a lot of great things there, but any time you're doing some things for the first time, you're learning as well. But he's learning fast."
Styles will primarily play Will in the base defense as long as Simon stays healthy, but Ohio State deployed a heavy dose of 4-3 packages against the Spartans with Arvell Reese at Mike, Simon at Will and Styles at Sam. C.J. Hicks also played in some of the 4-3 looks as he and Reese each saw 18 snaps.
Knowles mainly used the 4-3 against Michigan State's 12 personnel, meaning when the Spartans had two tight ends in the game. He said that Hancock does a “good job” against the run and Knowles has stuck to his base 4-2-5 looks against 12 personnel in the past, but he believes he has other weapons at his disposal with the likes of Reese and Hicks this year to face heavier bodies on the offense's line of scrimmage.
"I like the fact that (the linebackers) all can work together," Knowles said of the advantages of running 4-3. "When you have maybe two guys and a nickel, you're kind of in two different rooms. With three linebackers, they're all in the same room, and they can work together. And I think their understanding and processing is going very well. What we need to see better is tackling. Our linebackers need to continue to become better tacklers, and particularly this week, knockback tacklers."
“Our linebackers need to continue to become better tacklers, and particularly this week, knockback tacklers.”– Jim Knowles
Iowa comes to Ohio Stadium this week eager to try and knock the Buckeyes back. The Hawkeyes bring the nation's No. 2 rusher, a motivated Kaleb Johnson, into town. He has 685 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground this year with an average of 8.4 yards per carry. As a team, Iowa is No. 10 in college football with 250.3 rushing yards per game. Knowles referred to Johnson and Iowa as the “kings of turning a 2-yard gain into a 4- or 5-yard gain.”
Styles and he other linebackers might take some more lumps on the road to what the Buckeyes hope is a tough but comfortable win over Iowa. But Knowles will take all the blame for the rough patches.
"There are so many details to these things that any time a play goes wrong – and our players know this – I tell them, 'All your bad plays are on me, all your good plays are on you,'" Knowles said. "So when I look at a play, I say, 'OK, he should have done this.' But then I have to look at myself. And you have to say, 'How many times was he – in practice – put into that position versus that play?'"
