After arriving in Columbus in January as an early enrollee, Ohio State safety Kye Stokes is already drawing comparisons to his veteran teammates.
Dubbed “Mini Proctor,” Stokes’ aggressive play style and desire to hit has earned him the label of the next Josh Proctor, a comparison that he is ready to live up to.
“I wouldn’t mind playing like him, he’s a great athlete,” Stokes said. “I’ve been mirroring him, I’ve been learning from him, so that’s not a bad comparison at all.”
As Stokes has already collected comparisons to Proctor, he’s also learned from the redshirt senior’s career path since arriving in Columbus.
In his first two seasons, Proctor found himself behind Jordan Fuller on the depth chart and saw the field in a reserve role. Entering a loaded safeties room, Stokes is in a similar situation to where Proctor was when he first joined the Buckeyes.
Despite joining a room filled with talent, Stokes said he’s looking to learn from those ahead of him and work his way onto the field.
“I did it in high school. I didn’t touch the field until my junior year, so I know what it feels like to have to sit and wait my turn,” Stokes said. “At the same time, that gives me time to develop and to meet that standard of starting Ohio State DB. So if I have to learn and wait, I’m OK with that.”
While Stokes has taken on the Proctor comparisons with open arms, he added that he draws inspiration from some of the greatest safeties to play the game. Pointing to NFL Hall of Famer Ed Reed and two-time Pro Bowler Sean Taylor, Stokes said he strives to emulate his role models’ play styles.
Although Stokes seeks to model his game around Reed and Taylor, he emphasized he can already hit as hard as the all-time greats.
As a four-star prospect out of Seffner, Florida, Stokes committed to Ohio State May 2, 2021, coming just days after the Buckeyes offered him a scholarship.
“Through the course of those seven days, me and my parents did a lot of soul searching, you could say, but really just digging deep into the program,” Stokes said. “I had no doubt in my heart that this is where I belong.”
While Stokes said he’s been “locked in” ever since he committed to Ohio State, the first-year safety saw the Buckeyes’ defensive backs coaching staff get a complete makeover prior to his arrival in Columbus.
With former defensive backs coach Matt Barnes leaving to become the defensive coordinator at Memphis and Kerry Coombs heading back to Cincinnati, head coach Ryan Day picked up a pair of new faces to coach the defensive back end.
With Perry Eliano and Tim Walton joining the Buckeyes’ coaching staff as the safeties and cornerback coaches, respectively, Stokes said he’s been impressed with his new coaches.
“[They are] very genuine, honest people. I feel like they mean what they say, they came in and they mean business,” Stokes said. “They bring great knowledge and wisdom to the team and to myself.”
As Stokes is looking to make an impact in his first season, he said he’s just focused on picking up the minute details and learning from his veterans.
“I have a lot of opportunities to learn,” Stokes said. “Just really being able to learn the game, the speed of the game, the do’s and do not’s of the game at the college level, that’s what I feel like is the benefit of having those older guys to kind of guide me and lead me to the right path.”
