Two sacks and two pass breakups must be close to the most impact one can expect a linebacker to have on an opposing passing game.
A litany of teams across college football will go their entire season without getting multiple quarterback takedowns and multiple pass deflections in a single contest from a linebacker. But that's what Ohio State got from Sonny Styles against Northwestern on Saturday.
"We need Sonny to be as productive as he was today," Ryan Day said postgame. "When you can do it in man coverage, you can do it in zone coverage, you can blitz, you start to mix in all these different things you can do, then you just become more of a weapon."
Racking up six tackles with his pair of sacks and PBUs, Styles continued emerging as a weapon at linebacker for the Buckeyes vs. the Wildcats, now with 20 tackles, three sacks and three PBUs in his last three games.
"It feels good," Styles said. "I think I made the plays I should have. Like the plays that were there, I made them. And I think I missed out on some plays too. So I'm kind of more focused on the plays that I didn't make. Like I said, there's issues always."
The most iconic way for a linebacker to influence opposing passing attacks is by blitzing.
Storm downhill and sack the quarterback or at least pressure him. It's something the best linebackers throughout football lore are known for. Since the Oregon loss earlier this year, Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has dialed up more blitzes and simulated pressures to get more men involved in the pass rush than just defensive linemen.
The problem is that they haven't always finished those plays when given opportunities. Quarterbacks have been able to step up in the pocket or otherwise evade pressure from Ohio State's defense at various points this season, even when they get a free run. As such, the Buckeyes have drilled down on both how to get by offensive linemen and running backs blocking their blitzers and how to finish plays in the backfield.
"That's something that we've been working on," Day said. "The linebackers, DBs, everybody blitzing a little bit better and more efficiently with some of the tools that they need. You don't just run on a blitz and go sack the quarterback. There's a lot that goes with that. There's a couple in the last few weeks (where) we've gone right by the quarterback full speed, but have missed him."
Styles proved fearsome getting downhill into the lap of Northwestern quarterback Jack Lausch. On the below play, he lines up in B-gap between defensive tackle Tywone Malone and defensive end Kenyatta Jackson Jr., overloading the right side of the Wildcats' offensive line. He surges through untouched initially before the Wildcats' running back tries to pick him up, but Styles flies by and wraps up Lausch for a clean sack.
Styles' other sack came on a delayed blitz in the first quarter after defensive end Jack Sawyer chased Lausch off his spot. Sawyer and Styles are both Pickerington natives and the edge defender was close with Sonny's brother, Lorenzo Styles Jr., who now plays cornerback for Ohio State.
"It's cool," Sawyer said. "I grew up with Sonny. Me and Zo were good friends growing up since we were little kids, so it's definitely cool to team up for a sack with Sonny like that."
Styles has unlocked another level as a blitzer by avoiding overthinking, he said.
"Just trusting yourself and going. Not thinking about anything, just going, just being reckless."
Northwestern had no more luck against Styles when he dropped into coverage.
One can see how freely Styles is flowing when watching him break up the pass below. On his second PBU of the contest, he dropped into an underneath zone and read Lausch's eyes to quickly identify his target as tight end Thomas Gordon. Styles broke on Gordon with haste and worked through his hands to swat away the football.
Styles' knowledge of the linebacker position has been strong since he switched from safety, as shown by the fact he wore the green dot for Ohio State's in-helmet communication against Akron in Week 1 when Cody Simon was out. He's run at all three linebacker positions for the Buckeyes; Mike, Sam and Will. His improvements in recent weeks – he had nine tackles at Penn State and five tackles with a sack and a PBU against Purdue – have come as a result of him letting go of his thoughts and playing.
"I think I've always been confident in my voice," Styles said. "I think I always know what I'm doing. Been coached really, really well. So it's never really (about) knowing what I'm doing, I think it's just more of letting myself go. Don't be thinking. That's something I've kind of been trying to battle, not overthinking things."
Ohio State is going to need more production from Styles as it hits the stretch run of its season. The Buckeyes' third top-five showdown this year against No. 5 Indiana looms next week.
"They're a great team, it's no surprise (they're undefeated)," Styles said. "They've got a great coach. They've got some great players. I'm excited to play them, I think it's gonna be a great matchup."
