Sonny Styles Credits Move to Linebacker at Ohio State for His NFL Path

The stage only gets bigger from here, and the room for mistakes gets tighter. For Sonny Styles, that’s not intimidating. It’s exactly what he’s been working toward.

“Pittsburgh is an awesome city,” Styles said at the NFL Draft Prospects clinic. “I'm super excited to be here.”

He is not alone. With multiple Ohio State teammates expected to hear their names called, the moment has taken on a shared meaning.

“Just [so happy] for each other,” Styles said. “Excited to hear all of our names called and just ready to get to work.”

The excitement is real. So is the understanding of what awaits.

When asked about the biggest adjustment from college to the NFL, Styles didn’t hesitate. It starts up front. “The offensive line in the NFL are probably a lot better than what you see in college,” Styles said. “It’s like all five of them are NFL players. You don’t really see that too much in college. There’s like one or two.”

It’s a perspective shaped by his time at Ohio State, where development is part of the daily expectation.

“They spent so much time in the building,” Styles said. “Extra time they don’t need to. Sometimes they spend more time with us than they do their kids. I appreciate all the time they put into us.”

That investment, he believes, is why so many Buckeyes are part of this draft class.

“Without the development we have at Ohio State, all these guys wouldn’t be here,” Styles said. “It starts with Coach Day…we’ve just got a bunch of great people in the building.”

The path wasn’t always smooth. Styles admitted there was a point when his vision needed to be reset.

“After my sophomore year, I was a little discouraged,” he said. “I didn’t really like where I was at in my career.”

The move to linebacker changed everything. “When I switched and started getting a feel for it, I kind of started rekindling that vision,”

Those thoughts of making it to the NFL go back much further. “Since I was a little kid, I’ve always envisioned it."

He didn’t get there alone. “Once I showed my dad that’s what I wanted, he helped me get there,” Styles said. “Watching film with him in the mornings…he’s been an awesome resource.”

Now, that journey comes full circle in a moment he’ll share with family, including his brother, Lorenzo Styles Jr., and his father, Lorenzo Styles Sr.

“Super special,” Styles said. “It’s going to be a super emotional moment.”

What he brings next goes beyond where he lands.

“I think it starts with the person you bring into the locker room,” Styles said. “A reliable guy, someone who loves his teammates, who’s going to show up and do the right things every day.”

The rest comes from his approach to the game.

“I’m a football junkie,” Styles said. “I’m obsessed with it. Obsessed with getting better, obsessed with winning.”

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