LBs and TEs Met With The Media
3/27/2025 1:12:00 PM | Football
On Sonny Styles:
“He's the ultimate pro. He's been that way. Obviously his dad and mom have done a great job in raising him and Lorenzo and how they go about their business is very intentional. I've been secretly pounding the table for Sonny Styles to play linebacker since I got here. You just saw that frame and you knew like just let the kid eat a cheeseburger and he'll get to the right weight. From day one that we said we're making the switch he just wanted to work on his feet and work and work and work. You said the leader of the front seven, I think he's the leader of the entire team. He's handled himself really well through the entire winter workout period. Cody set such a good example and Tommy set a great example the year before. Everyone leads in their own way. Cody didn't lead like Tommy and Sonny won't lead like either of them. We all have our own form of leadership. You have to be authentic. When you're a leader that's hard because like everyone's looking at you to step out of line. Sonny's done a great job kind of taking that over.”
On Linebackers being leaders of the team:
“You just have to be. You're talking in front of the huddle every single play. If the quarterback's making checks you're making checks, so you're the most vocal guy naturally. It doesn't mean you have to be a rah rah guy. I remember playing with AJ Hawk and he wasn't the most vocal guy but when he did talk we listened. He's going to be where he's supposed to be, he's going to mess somebody up when he gets to the point of the attack and he's going to do what he says he's going to do. AJ's right more often than not so he'd be the guy speaking in front of the huddle.”
On how valuable it is to have four returning Tight Ends:
“Hugely valuable and I think the best part is now I can challenge them even more. We are past the stage of 'here's what it's going to be like on Saturday'. They've almost all done it already, so know I could challenge them even more to be better than any room in the country. We are at Ohio State, so if you are not up to the challenge then go somewhere else."
On areas he feels he has grown the most since the end of the season:
“Being back now I feel like I’m stepping into a leadership role a little bit which is nice to do. Guys can relate to what I have been through and if someone feels down I have been at the very bottom, so I think guys draw to that and I'm really stepping into that to try to be a good example for the younger guys.”
Why most of the guys stayed instead of leaving for the upcoming season:
“I think it is just a testament to how strong this brotherhood is. When coach told us that we were bringing in Max I thought it was a great opportunity for me to learn some stuff from him. He is a great player. I think now we have so many really good guys in the room, we can stay fresh, learn off of each other and ultimately become the best players we can be. “
On how spring practices are going so far:
“I feel amazing. We got some practices in our bag now. We have to see a lot of guys come out here and work. I feel like spring is going well.”
On what he took away from last season:
“Win in this game. That was it. Win in this game. Go out there on Saturday, beat the men in front of you and we came out with a National Championship.”
On what he picked up on from playing last season:
“Honestly, just be ready at any time. You can be thrown in at any time just like I was. I probably had some reps where I was just thrown in, but you have to get it done. If you don’t get it done they’ll find somebody else to do it.”
On the tight end room:
“This is a room that's great for me. I feel like I can learn from these guys. Will's been through it, Bennett's been through it, Max has been through it, Jelani, all those guys are veterans they know what it's about and what college football is like. Just getting to learn from those guys and like learning the techniques and the the ins and outs of everything. They've done a great job with me and taking me under their wing and really pushing me to be the best that I can be but it's definitely a great room. We have great bond overall it's been great in that tight end room.”
On how watching the National Championship motivates him:
“It really does make me way more hungry just like seeing what those guys did and the amount of preparation that they put in. I feel like we really can go and do that again. So just having that, being there and being able to see them do that it really just does give me motivation.”
On Coach Patricia:
“I really like Coach Patricia a lot. It's what can he do for you, not what can you do for him and he's real. He's just trying to serve and help and I've learned so much football this past two weeks more than I've learned in my whole lifetime. It's been great having him and he's a good coach and he teaches and he's talking to me on the mic telling me what I see and stuff and I feel like I'm getting a lot smarter and processing things a lot faster.”
On coming back from his injury and getting a rhythm back:
“It feels good. I was kind of just thrown right into it in fall camp and I thought I did a pretty good job just kind of getting thrown into the fire. Now after coming back this year things just click a lot easier and I feel like with this defense everyone's clicking and I'm just really studying as much as I can. I just live up here all day and it's great having Sonny and even a guy like Cody last year just the level of preparation he had every single day was unlike I've ever seen anyone. He knew what everybody was doing every single play and so that's what I'm just trying to have trust in the coaches that I can know what's going on at all times, so I can go in there and do my job.”
On Coach James Laurinaitis calling him the leader of the defense:
"I appreciate him saying that. I think we have a lot of leaders on this team, but I try to carry myself the right way and based on the way I was raised I try to instill some of those values into younger guys. It is easy to be a leader on this team because we have so many great people. We have a lot of great, not only players, but the kind of people they are, the way they carry themselves off the field and outside the locker room. I wouldn't say I'm the only leader on this team. There are a lot of guys that lead especially on the defensive side of the ball and the offense as well."
On how different he feels this spring after making the transition to linebacker last season:
“I feel good. I feel like I've been playing this position for longer than a year, so that's a good thing. I'm just trying to get better each and every day. Coach Laurinaitis is a great coach and Coach Patricia has been a great teacher. He is very hands on with the linebackers. He was a former linebacker coach at one point, so he is very hands on with the linebackers and its been great. We have a talented room, so we all push each other and you have to bring you A-game everyday because you have a lot of great players around you.”
On what made him want to be apart of this program:
“Really Coach Laurinaitis he did it big time here. He did it big time in the league, so just learning from him and he's such a great person you can relate with on and off the field you just love them.”
On his strengths coming into the season:
“Definitely my arm length, sideline to sideline speed and my covering.”
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On what he took away from his first season:
“It was awesome. I came in somewhere new, didn’t know what to expect, adapted and fit in the role. I had that minor setback, but I think that turned into a positive. We took it for the long haul and got it done, so it was pretty cool and a crazy experience.”
On how his injury became a positive for him:
“It allowed me to have a different perspective of college football in general. Being out watching practice, understanding what goes into a game and to prepare like that. I just put my head down, went through the rehab, tried to make the most out of it and it worked out.”
On how he feels during spring practices:
“Going through a whole year, going for as long as we did, having a year under my belt, knowing how everything runs in the building…I think it has all developed me into a better a player. I know how to handle everything and it’s been really good. I feel like I handled it well.”
On working with Matt Patricia:
“It’s been good. He is a really good guy and a real good coach. I’ve been excited to work with him and pick his brain a little bit. He has done a good job of taking on a little bit at a time as we go. Everything’s new and we are all learning. It’s been really good.”
On where he feels he grew the most from last year:
“I feel like I got a lot of reps last year, so with reps comes more confidence and playing faster.”
On what he took from Cody Simon:
“I try to prepare like him. When he prepared, he was intentional, so that’s definitely something I try to do like him. When it comes to preparing and being intentional with studying and how I prepare for practice, I definitely took that from him.”
On how his first practices at Ohio State have been going:
“It has been great so far. The people have all been great, the players, everyone's really embraced me. It feels like home and I can't ask for a better place to be.”
On what made him come to Ohio State:
"I think the environment and the people here. The coaches have so much experience and the players you get to play against everyday are going to make you better. Guys like Jelani push me everyday, so it is good to have people like that around here.“
On what has been most eye opening:
“The most eye opening thing is the game speed. I know you gotta stay on that film so everything is slowed down for me right now, but that's really just most eye opening thing. Everything else is good.”
On his expectation for his first year:
“Just getting on the field and making plays. I feel like that's a good expectation for me I just want to get out there and make plays.”
On working with Coach James Laurinaitis:
“It has been great being under Coach Laurinaitis. Obviously, I can’t really learn from anyone better. He’s been through it all and done it at the highest level, so it’s been great. You have to take everything he says and apply it to your brain.”
On what it means to him to have the opportunity to learn from Sonny Styles:
“I like to just watch and see how he does things and how the older guys do things to replicate that and how they prepare. That’s part of being the young guy coming up. I have to mentally say ‘how do the guys that have been through it and do good at it do it,’ I need to be like that and that has really been my mind set.”
