Sonny Styles likely would have been a middle-round pick if he entered the 2025 NFL draft, but the Ohio State linebacker felt he still had more to accomplish as a Buckeye.
Styles announced Friday that he would stay at Ohio State for his senior season rather than enter this year’s NFL draft. He expounded upon that decision after Ohio State’s national championship celebration at Ohio Stadium on Sunday.
“It's probably the best thing for me to do,” Styles told reporters. “I wasn't ready to leave yet. I feel like I have some more stuff to work on, get better at and some more stuff to prove with this team.”
While Styles’ upside as a 6-foot-4, 235-pound linebacker with excellent athleticism for his size certainly would have gotten him drafted after a 100-tackle season for the Buckeyes, he has plenty of room to improve his draft stock with another year at Ohio State. After all, he’s played linebacker for only one season. And while he was highly productive in his first year as the Buckeyes’ Will linebacker, also recording 10.5 tackles for loss with six sacks, five pass breakups and a forced fumble, his inexperience showed at times – particularly in coverage, as he gave up 43 catches for 385 yards and a touchdown on 59 targets, according to Pro Football Focus.
Staying at Ohio State also allows Styles to take on a leadership role, as he’s one of just three returning starters on the Buckeyes’ defense and the most experienced player among Ohio State’s rising seniors who have been with the team for their entire careers. That’s a role Styles is ready to embrace as he looks to follow in the footsteps of Cody Simon, the linebacker he started alongside this season, who was a crucial leader for the 2024 Buckeyes as a team captain and the wearer of the team’s “Block O” jersey.
“It feels amazing,” Styles said of being a leader for the 2025 Buckeyes. “I think there's a lot of guys who've laid the platform for what it looks like to be a leader. I think a big shoutout goes to Cody Simon there; obviously he was the Block O this year, and we were both linebackers together this year obviously, but I think he really showed me what it looks like to be a true leader. We have a lot of great leaders, but I think being so close to him every day and working with him every day, he's really inspired me, and seeing him come back for his last year and seeing how much better he got really inspired me as well.”
Becoming a team captain is one of Styles’ top goals as his final offseason as a Buckeye begins.
“I'd love to be that. I think that's one of the biggest accomplishments I'd ever achieve here,” Styles said. “When you're voted a captain, that says a lot. It says a lot about what the players and your teammates think about you. Obviously, the four captains we had up there this last year, they're amazing people, amazing players, but it's what your teammates think about you, man. That's special.”
Styles’ leadership could be crucial to the 2025 Buckeyes as Ohio State doesn’t have nearly as many established veterans returning next season as it did this past season. Among players who were starters all season for the 2024 Buckeyes, Styles is one of just six returning players along with safety Caleb Downs, cornerback Davison Igbinosun, wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate and right guard Tegra Tshabola.
Even so, Styles is confident in the Buckeyes’ chances to repeat as national champions next year.
“We're going to have a really good team next year, and I think we're going to be able to get it done again,” Styles said. “We’ve got a great team coming back. A lot of great players, a lot of talented players.
Styles believes the confidence the Buckeyes played with during their four-game College Football Playoff run is something they can draw from as they gear up to try to make another such run next season.
“I think just the last four games, the way we played, the way the coaches coached, the way the players played, it was just a ferocious attack. Almost like we're going to get out there and throw swings at you. There was no kind of hesitation or anything like that, so I think that's going to roll us into it next year,” Styles said.
“We're going to have a really good team next year, and I think we're going to be able to get it done again.”– Sonny Styles on Ohio State’s 2025 championship aspirations
That said, Styles said the 2025 Ohio State football team can’t simply try to be the 2024 Buckeyes. With a lineup that will be very different from this past season, Styles said next season’s Buckeyes have to play to their own strength.
“We’re going to have to create our own identity. It's a new team next year,” Styles said. “It’s amazing what we did this year, and the guys on the team are part of that, but next year’s a new team. It’s a clean slate, you’ve got to create your own identity and create your own story.”
