PICKERINGTON, Ohio — Lorenzo Styles Sr. didn’t know what body type his youngest son was going to have.

When he began training Alex Styles, known as Sonny, it started at defensive end, eventually moving back to linebacker and even further back to safety, eventually filling a hole at free safety that Pickerington Central needed.

Lorenzo Styles Sr. knows Sonny Styles isn’t perfect at everything on the defensive side of the ball. His son just signed with Ohio State as a five star in the 2022 class and he was still saying how Styles’ angles on run fits coming from 10 deep are “bad sometimes.”

But it’s not about perfection. It’s about potential with Sonny Styles, potential that Ohio State saw from the get go.

“We’re going to use him everywhere we can,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said of the five-star athlete. “He can do a lot of things: he can cover, he can blitz, he can play zone, he can play man. He’s like a Swiss Army Knife out there, so our guys on defense are going to be excited to have him in different roles as he builds.”

Sonny Styles wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s the kind of player his father built him up to being, following in his father’s footsteps after he played for Ohio State from 1993-94. It’s the kind of player he wants to be at Ohio State.

“When I go somewhere, I want to make a big impact,” he said. “I think the first year, I don’t want to come in like I deserve something. I just want to come in and work real hard and see what happens.”

With Ohio State, Styles saw an opportunity to come in earlier than expected.

When Styles told Day that he was committing to the Buckeyes, sitting in the Blackwell Hotel on campus before Ohio State’s game against Purdue, the head coach said the then-junior brought up the idea of getting to the program a year early.

“They had always sort of planned out,” Day said. “His older brother played, and he just kind of did that growing up. Maybe that’s something that motivated him, but that was something he and his family brought to us, and we will support him in that decision.”

Styles said it was something he and his family were thinking about throughout his junior season at Pickerington Central, going through the pros and cons.

But the junior had two big pros on his side: being only 30 minutes from home and having a family that knows what that college football experience is like from his father and his brother: Lorenzo Styles Jr., who plays wide receiver at Notre Dame.

“It’s just a blessing to be able to have that: those people that just tell you how the game goes, what to do, what not to do when coming in,” Styles said. “It just puts me in a great situation, you know? Not everyone gets that. I’m blessed to get it.”

Lorenzo Styles Sr. knows Sonny has an idea of what to expect. But he also knows that his son really has to experience it to understand what it means, something that will force him into situations that he’s not used to, including playing time.

“He’s always been on the field,” Lorenzo Styles Sr. said. “There’s going to be a situation where he’s not on the field. He has to learn how to get on the field and what it takes to get on the field.”

But Sonny Styles has something many players don’t have: versatility.

He has tools in his toolbox, Lorenzo Styles Sr. said, quoting Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson. He has the ability to go out and do what new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, what Ohio State as a whole needs him to do.

And Sonny Styles is prepared for that. He knows there will be an adjustment. But he also knows his mind will be right when the time comes.

“I don’t think it’s really the age,” Styles said. “It’s more of your mental aspect of it, how mature are you mentally.

“I think I’m very mature and my Dad raised me that way. I’ll be prepared.”