The Buckeyes changed direction in their secondary coaching staff with the hires of new cornerbacks coach Tim Walton and safeties coach Perry Eliano.
Over the last two seasons at Cincinnati, Eliano had a hand in developing NFL draft picks and Bearcat safeties Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner and Coby Bryant.
Ohio State allowed 246.2 passing yards per game last season, which ranked third-worst in the Big Ten Conference. The Buckeyes turned over the reins of defensive play calling to former secondary coach Matt Barnes midseason in 2021, but now have new voices on their coaching staff.
The start of the 2022 season is still over a month away for the Buckeyes, and Scarlet and Gray Report will profile each of the newcomers who joined Ohio State since the end of spring practice. Next up in the Newcomer Profiles is incoming freshman safety Sonny Styles.
Position: SAF
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 220
Year: Freshman
Last school: Pickerington Central
Ohio State has benefitted from some recruits’ decisions to reclassify from their original classes and graduate in order to enroll in college earlier.
The Buckeyes saw just that during Styles’ recruitment, as the No. 2 safety in the class of 2022 announced his commitment Nov. 13, 2021. Originally a member of the class of 2023, Styles graduated and then joined Ohio State this summer.
Son of six-year NFL veteran and former Ohio State linebacker Lorenzo Styles, Sonny Styles has the size and ability to make an impact in college football. The 6-foot-2 safety totaled 55 tackles and snagged two interceptions at nearby Pickerington Central last fall.
He’ll enter a revamped safeties room after the Buckeyes hired Eliano from Cincinnati. New defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has also said he wants Ohio State to be a “safety-driven defense,” so the preseason will reveal where Sonny Styles is in the Buckeyes’ immediate plans.
Sonny Styles’ career at Ohio State is only beginning, but the top-ranked Ohio recruit will pair with fellow in-state five-star in linebacker C.J. Hicks to lead the Buckeyes’ 2022 class into the future.
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