This Ohio State linebacker is being overshadowed by future NFL Draftee Arvell Reese

The Ohio State Buckeyes' linebacker duo is unmatched.

The combination of Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles continue to be the stalwarts for the Buckeye defense, which ranks Top 10 in the nation in numerous categories. The team itself is coming off an impressive, 48-10, victory over the UCLA Bruins with the defense holding an opposition to under 10 points in 8-of-10 games this season.

After the game on Saturday, the postgame grades came back with Styles leading the way for the defense. His mark came in at an impressive 77.8 on 29 snaps.

Both Reese and Styles have now combined for 115 total tackles, 13.5 tackles for a loss, 6.5 sacks and one interception. That's not just impressive, that's pure dominance.

However, Reese has taken most of the headlines. The junior, who's a year behind Styles, is the token child of Ohio State's defense.

Many analysts including Danr Brugler of The Athletic, have given high praise to Reese.

"Want to play him as a full-time edge rusher? Reese can do that," Brugler's article reads. "Prefer to keep him off the ball? He can do that, too. At 6 feet 4 and 240 pounds with long arms, Reese is just as comfortable setting the edge with violence as he is dropping in space to cover ground or using burst to capture the corner and close on the quarterback.

"I don’t know how realistic it is that Reese actually will be the first player (or first non-quarterback) drafted, but he is the best draft-eligible prospect I have studied in 2025."

This high praise for Reese has somewhat overshadowed Styles' talent and involvement, which has been so important, for the Buckeyes the last two years.

Last season, Styles recorded 100 tackles, 10.5 for a loss and six sacks, all while tacking on five pass deflections and one forced fumble and recovery as well. This year, his individual numbers are behind Reese, but its because he's taken over the enforcer role and picked up missed matchups. He's also helped out heavily in the pass and rush attack.

" [He's got] impressive speed to close on ball carriers, either when clicking and closing in coverage or when it comes to his sideline-to-sideline range against the run," reads his Bleacher Report profile. "[He's an] effective open-field tackler, Styles has the athleticism to avoid getting juked out in space, breaks down before contact and appears to have long arms to increase his tackle radius."

Initially joining the program as a safety, this doesn't come as much of a surprise.

He has the talent to go hash-mark to has-mark and fly all over the field. That transition from safety to linebacker seemed to come so easily not just because of his physical athleticism, but also his game IQ.

Mell Kiper from ESPN currently has Styles as the fifth-best linebacker, behind Reese, Texas' Anthony Hill Jr., CJ Allen of Georgia and in-state linebacker Jake Golday from Cincinnati. Other rankings have Styles as the fourth, third and second ranked linebacker.

At 6-foot-4, 235 pounds, the versatile defender should be off the board fairly quickly in the 2026 NFL Draft.

With how well Reese has been playing this season, its understandable for people to fly under the radar, but Styles doesn't deserve to.

He's elite and it will be shocking to see him slip very far in the upcoming draft.

The Buckeyes return back to action on Saturday, Nov. 22, with kickoff slated for 12:00 p.m. against Rutgers.