Two years ago, this week, 16 year-old Sonny Styles played in his final high school game. Upper Arlington faced off against Styles' Pickerington Central Tigers. The game went to three overtimes before UA finally won. Aside from Styles' obvious football acuity, he stood out when he blocked a UA field goal attempt late in the 4th quarter to keep the score tied, 14-14.
Fast forward to the spring of 2022, Styles would enroll early at Ohio State. This while still being a 17 year-old kid, essentially. As the 2022 Ohio State season wore one, his role in Jim Knowles' defense began to grow during his true freshman year.
Entering 2023, he was poised for a breakout. OSU Safeties coach Perry Eliano referred to Styles as a 'Unicorn'. As recently as today, Knowles was asked about Styles and said the following:
Jim Knowles on Sonny Styles filling in for Lathan Ransom:
"Lathan had really gotten better. He was getting better all the time. I feel terrible for him to be out right now. But Sonny is taller. He has range. He has experience in coverage. ... He has a lot of versatility."
— Chase Brown (@chaseabrown__) November 14, 2023
This evening I fired up Twitter and saw this:
Sonny Styles: 91.8 Run Defense Grade this season
Leads all Power Five Defenders pic.twitter.com/ZGynIOK31I
— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 14, 2023
I think it's safe to say that #6 has arrived, in a big way. Enjoy him while he's still wearing scarlet and gray, folks. The time is flying by.
Oh, and he has a birthday coming up on November 24th – the day before The Game – it's his 19th.
@sonnystyles_ pic.twitter.com/kxXZOMaaDe
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) November 13, 2023
