Ohio State Football: One player who could break out in 2023

The Ohio State football team will resume Spring practice once everyone is back from Spring break. Once they do, they will continue to get some valuable off-season work in. We know how badly the defense needs work and the offense is trying to figure out who the quarterback is going to be.

There are plenty of players to be excited about heading into the 2023 season. One player who I was very excited about last year and who could break out this year is safety Sonny Styles. Styles is now in his second year in the program after being a freshman last year.

Styles didn’t play a lot at safety when the games mattered. He got in during some mop-up duty but did play a lot on special teams. Now, the former five-star recruit has a chance for some playing time with Tanner McCalister and Ronnie Hickman gone, there are safety spots up for grabs.

Styles is in line to nab one of them in Jim Knowles’ three-safety system. He is one of the most physical defenders that the Buckeyes have on the roster. Plus, he does a pretty good job in coverage. He’s the perfect player for this system that Knowles likes to run.

In limited time a year ago, Styles managed to record 9 tackles, mostly on special teams. With Ja’Had Carter coming in from the transfer portal and Lathan Ransom returning, Styles has a chance to be the hard-hitting safety of the group and earn a starting spot.

I think Styles could be really good this season. I could see him getting upwards of 70 tackles this year. That’s how much talent I think he has. It’ll be interesting to see how much he can improve this offseason and if it’s enough to earn more playing time.