Sonny Styles is the ultimate weapon for the Ohio State football team

The Ohio State football team has a loaded secondary in 2024. All three corners and one saftey return from last season. They also now have Caleb Downs after he transferred from Alabama. So how are the Buckeyes going to get all of these great players on the field?

Perhaps the answer lies with Sonny Styles. Styles very well could be making a move to linebacker now that the Buckeyes lose both starting linebackers from last season. Styles is a hybrid player that has the speed to cover receviers as a safety but also the size and toughness to attack ball-carriers downhill.

Coach Laurinaitis seems to think he can move to linebacker. Speaking to the media today, he likened Styles to former Clemson star Isaiah Simmons. Simmons was a linebacker-safety hybrid who roamed all over the field for the Tigers. He eventually became a first-round pick.

Styles could be that type of player based on his size and ball-skills. He was used in the box most of last year anyway so a move to linebacker would make sense. That allows Downs to stay at safety and dominate as he did at Alabama as a freshman a season ago.

If Styles does move to linebacker, it's unclear who the odd man out at linebacker is next season. It could be C.J. Hicks strictly because Cody Simon is returning. Personally, I'd like to see Hicks out there instead of Simon, but I doubt that's going to happen.

How Styles does in the Spring with a potential transition will determine whether or not Hicks gets significant playing time. He has yet to see close to starter minutes despite being a five-star recruit coming out of high school. I'd love to see him and Styles team up at LB.

No matter how the Ohio State football team approaches the linebacker situation, it shouldn't matter in terms of the numbers this team will put up. This defense will once again be elite next year.