Sonny Styles is Ohio State’s Sixth Block “O” Recipient
8/16/2025 2:26:00 PM | Football
Is the Buckeyes leading returning tackler with 100 stops in 2024
COLUMBUS, Ohio – You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who is more Buckeye than Sonny Styles.
Start with his family: his father, Lorenzo, was a star linebacker at Ohio State from 1992-94 and went on to play six years in the NFL. His mother, Laverna Styles, is also an Ohio State graduate. And his brother, Lorenzo Styles Jr., is in his third year with the Buckeyes and has also graduated after transferring from Notre Dame.
Next, consider his path to Ohio State: he grew up in nearby Pickerington, Ohio – just 20 minutes from Ohio Stadium – and was a star football and basketball player at Pickerington Central High School. A highly recruited prospect, he reclassified during his junior year of high school and joined the program in 2022 as a safety.
After spending his first two seasons in the secondary, Styles made the transition to linebacker in 2024 with a seamlessness rarely seen at his position. Following the season, he had a decision to make regarding his NFL future and elected to return for his senior season to not only improve his play, but also entrench himself as a leader on a team that returns just three starters on the defensive side the ball.
And on Saturday following Ohio State's 15th practice of preseason camp, Styles got the ultimate Buckeye honor: He'll wear the coveted Block O this season.
Statistically, Styles was Ohio State's second-leading tackler on last year's CFP national championship team, which was spearheaded by the nation's top defense. He started all 16 games, made 100 stops and had 10.5 tackles for loss and six sacks. In the postseason, his game rose to a new level: 24 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks and one forced fumble in wins over No. 7 Tennessee, No. 1 Oregon, No. 3 Texas and No. 5 Notre Dame.
"Sonny is the ultimate pro," linebackers coach James Lauriniatis said earlier this month. "He's very intentional. From the day we decided to make the switch [to linebacker], he's done nothing but work at it. He's the leader of the entire team."
Styles has blossomed under Laurinaitis' tutelage and will be a candidate for the Butkus Award, which goes to the nation's top linebacker, and the Lott IMPACT Trophy this fall. The list of his preseason honors is as long as it is impressive: he's on 10 preseason watch lists, numerous All-America teams and last week was No. 10 on Bruce Feldman's "Freaks List." Now he'll done a new number – 0 – when the preseason turns to the regular season on Aug. 30 inside Ohio Stadium against No. 1-ranked Texas.
Block O Honors Bill Willis
Ohio State's tradition of awarding the Block "O" is inspired by one of the all-time greats to ever don the Scarlet and Gray: Bill Willis. A defensive end whose career spanned from 1942-44, Willis was an All-American and national champion during his time with the Buckeyes. He later went on to break the color barrier in the National Football League as a member of the Cleveland Browns and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as well as the College Football Hall of Fame.
Willis' No. 99 is retired at Ohio State and what he stood for – toughness, accountability and the highest of character – are values that the current-day Buckeyes strive for every day. And nobody better exemplifies those traits than Styles, which is why Day and his staff chose him to represent the No. 0 jersey this year.
Ohio State's Block O Recipients
2020 – DE Jonathon Cooper
2021 – OL Thayer Munford
2022 – WR Kamryn Babb
2023 – WR Xavier Johnson
2024 – LB Cody Simon
2025 – LB Sonny Styles
