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Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles announced Friday he will remain in school for his senior year rather than leave early for the NFL.
“It’s an honor to play for Ohio State,” he wrote in a graphic posted on X. “I’m not done yet. I’m here to stay. Let’s run it back.”
With heavy attrition as a result of maintaining a senior-laden defense last season, Styles’ return is impactful for the Buckeyes. He joins safety Caleb Downs as a returning starter.
Ohio State Buckeyes safety Sonny Styles (6) celebrates a defensive stop during the first half of the Cotton Bowl Classic College Football Playoff semifinal game against the Texas Longhorns at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Jan. 10, 2025.
He could replace Cody Simon as the starting middle linebacker, which involves a handful of pre-snap responsibilities, or stay on the weak side.
A native of Pickerington who graduated a year early from Central in 2022 to enroll at Ohio State, Styles spent his first two seasons with the Buckeyes as a safety.
But with a 6-foot-4 frame, he moved closer to the line of scrimmage during spring last year, taking advantage of his size. In his move to linebacker, he made nearly twice as many tackles, finishing with 100 as a junior. Only Simon had more with 112.
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Styles also finished with 10.5 tackles for loss and six sacks, used in blitz packages by defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.
No other defender from the front of Knowles’ 4-2-5 defense is returning to school.
Styles has family ties to Ohio State. His father, Lorenzo Styles Sr., was a linebacker for the Buckeyes during the 1990s, and his older brother, Lorenzo Styles Jr., is a cornerback who transferred to the school from Notre Dame in 2023. Lorenzo Jr. is in line to be a fifth-year senior next fall.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ohio-state-football-linebacker-sonny-221513963.html
Author : The Columbus Dispatch
Publish date : 2025-01-24 22:15:00
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