Sonny Styles named Ohio State Buckeyes starting WILL linebacker

Sonny Styles switched positions this offseason, but, for the second year in a row, he’ll be a Week 1 starter. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day announced Tuesday that Styles will take the first WILL linebacker snaps Saturday afternoon against Akron.

Styles has been competing with C.J. Hicks, another On3 Industry Ranking top-15 overall prospect from the state of Ohio in the 2022 class, in spring ball and training camp. Both will play Saturday, but Styles will be the first one out there on the field next to starting MIKE linebacker Cody Simon.

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“We’re going to play multiple guys at linebacker, but Sonny has separated himself for sure and will start at WILL linebacker for us,” Day said. “He has done a nice job in this transition from safety. And when you move up, the game moves faster. It’s just quicker.

“[Sonny’s] changed his body, and the reps that he got in the spring really helped. I think he’s done a good job of communicating. He and Cody work well together, but you’re also going to see Arvell [Reese] in there, you’re going to see C.J. in there [as well as] Gabe [Powers]. These guys are going to get reps, and we’ll try to play as many guys as we can in this game.”

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Whereas Hicks has played only 75 defensive snaps in his Buckeyes career, Styles has made a bigger impact since his freshman year, which he started as a 17-year-old who reclassified from Pickerington Central High School.

Styles got 12 early snaps in the Peach Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal as a true freshman, a game in which he effectively lined up as a SAM linebacker. Then he went on to start at that nickel SAM position more than half of his sophomore season before sliding back to play strong safety in the absence of Lathan Ransom down the stretch of the year.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Styles finished last season with 53 total tackles, good for sixth on the team, including 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.

Earlier this month, Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles described the two-way race between Styles and Hicks for the starting WILL linebacker gig as “neck and neck,” but in the practices open to the media, Styles was seen taking the majority of first-team reps at WILL linebacker.

Knowles has repeated throughout the offseason that, even though he runs a 4-2-5 defense, he’d like to get Simon, Styles and Hicks on the field together at times in 2024, particularly against run-heavy teams and/or in run-heavy situations. Knowles made it clear Tuesday that he sees all three of them as “ones,” or first-team players.

Knowles added that there could even be times where Styles slides over to play MIKE linebacker, Hicks plays WILL and Simon gets a rest.

“Sonny is extremely coachable, and he’s one of those guys you can tell things to one time, and he gets it,” Knowles said, when asked about Styles’ ability to play the MIKE spot. “So we have some versatility there.”

Styles can play all three linebacker positions, however, he’ll start next to Simon at WILL Saturday against Akron.