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Ryan Day points to key leader in Ohio State’s Will LB battle

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

Ryan Day has Ohio State gearing up for the start of the regular season with the season opener just over a week away. On Aug. 31, the Buckeyes will begin their campaign against Akron, but a few position battles remain up in the air before we get there.

Day met with the media after Thursday’s practice to preview things such as the offensive line and right guard battle as well as the positional battle at Will linebacker. The other linebacker position will be anchored by veteran Cody Simon, but Ohio State has been trying to determine the best way to deploy former 5-star recruits Sonny Styles and CJ Hicks.

Hicks is a linebacker by trade while Styles arrived on campus as the No. 1 safety in the 2022 recruiting class per the 247 Sports Composite. However, Styles was still developing physically, and he is now making the transition to playing LB for the Buckeyes.

According to Day, it is Styles who looks like the leader to anchor the Will LB spot in the season opener.

“Sonny has really stepped up and played really well. He’s made the transition from safety to linebacker very well. I think he did a nice job in the spring, but you can definitely see as he went into the summer bigger, stronger, being more comfortable closer to the line of scrimmage,” described Day. “It’s different when you’re closer to the line of scrimmage. Doing a better job getting his hands on offensive linemen and getting off of blocks.”

Day went on to say Ohio State will get its final look at some of these position battles in a scrimmage on Saturday before making the formal depth chart. But Styles is performing well in practice and going about his craft in an intentional manner.

“He’s looking forward to playing (the position) in the game and get an idea of what it all looks like. But I can tell you in practice he’s playing fast, playing violent, and I think he does a nice job of taking the meeting to the field and being intentional about his work,” Day said.

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While Styles looks like the starter, expect Hicks to still factor into the rotation on defense in a heavier role than he has played his first two seasons in Columbus. Hicks may be one of the best pass rushers on the unit, but the versatility and potential of Styles is clear to see.

It’s also worth revisiting the impact of star safety Caleb Downs transferring into the program and veteran Lathan Ransom turning down the NFL for another season. If not for one (or both) of those moves, it could have kept Styles anchored into a safety position for 2024.

Styles has the talent to impact the game at either level, but it’s another positive sign pointing to the depth of the Buckeyes that he can be deployed at LB without concern for the depth in the secondary.

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Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.