Ohio State Safeties Coach Perry Eliano Raves About Sonny Styles ‘Huge Ceiling’

With four safeties leaving the Ohio State Buckeyes this offseason, safety Sonny Styles will look to garner more playing time in 2023.

Author:
Casey Smith
Feb 3, 2023 1:27 PM EST

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Last spring coming out of Pickerington Central High School, safety Sonny Styles was busy chasing a state championship berth in basketball before joining Ohio State football in the summer.

It took Styles just three weeks to get into action on the defense, playing 11 snaps in a blowout 77-21 win against Toledo on Sept. 17, 2022, but his season was capped off with playing time in the Buckeyes’ 42-41 Peach Bowl loss to Georgia.

“The thing I appreciate most about Sonny is he came in and worked. There was no entitlement,” Eliano said. “Yeah, he was the No. 1 player and all that, but you would’ve never thought that the minute he stepped foot in the door. So, he earned the right to be on that stage and play the role that he played.”

Styles’ size is apparent, standing 6-foot-4 and weighing 222 pounds — both the biggest measurables of the Ohio State safeties — which led to Josh Proctor calling him a “manchild” last season.

That was on display last season on his second career tackle. Styles pursued Toledo wide receiver Adam Beale and made a forceful open-field, one-on-one tackle to stifle the Rockets’ third-and-8 attempt to move the chains.

Eliano has two people to thank for that.

“Well, I’m thankful for his mom and dad. Little DNA there,” Eliano said.

However, the Buckeyes’ safeties coach elaborated that Styles’ talents extend beyond just his highly-touted physical attributes.

“The thing for Sonny is he’s smart,” Eliano said. “His football IQ is extremely high to be that young, and that’s a credit to his coach, that’s a credit to his dad, that’s a credit to his upbringing and that’s a credit to his great focus and discipline.”

Styles’ opportunities to get on the field will look to grow in his sophomore season in Columbus, as Ronnie Hickman and Tanner McCalister are departing for the NFL, and Jantzen Dunn and Jaylen Johnson transferred to Kentucky and Memphis, respectively.

However, Ohio State added Syracuse transfer safety Ja’Had Carter, who had 36 tackles and three interceptions in 12 games a season ago for the Orange.

As Styles enters his first spring practice regiment with the Buckeyes, Eliano said he is excited about what Styles can bring to the back end of their secondary in 2023.

“The exciting thing is we haven’t really even scratched the surface of what he can be and I can see him being,” Eliano said. “There’s a huge ceiling, but the biggest thing I love about him is he’s focused, he’s humble and he’s locked into taking it one day at a time.”