Former priority Notre Dame football recruiting target becoming breakout star for the Ohio State Buckeyes

Arguably the biggest game of the season is set for this Saturday when the (2) Ohio State Buckeyes travel to take on the (3) Oregon Ducks . This matchup is littered with stars, including quarterback Dillon Gabriel , running back Jordan James, and a deep wide receiver room for the Ducks. The Buckeyes will counter with quarterback Will Howard, running backs Quinshon Judkins and TreyVeon Henderson, as well as maybe the best wide receiver room in the country.

In this type of game, it could be decided by the risers and the role players. On the Ohio State side, they saw a potential breakout on the second level of their defense with linebacker Sonny Styles . A tremendous talent on the defensive side of the football, Styles ended his game last week against Iowa with seven total tackles, and 1.5 tackles for loss. He was tremendous, and has been demanding more national and 2025 NFL Draft attention.

Notre Dame football fans are very familiar with Styles, who was a key target for the team back in the 2022 recruiting class. The Irish finished high on his list, but Styles opted for the in-state Buckeyes over joining his older brother Lorenzo in South Bend. Obviously things have worked out just fine for him since then, and Lorenzo is now rotating in for the Buckeyes as well.

When Styles was coming out of Pickerington (Ohio) Central, he was well regarded by every major recruiting service. He was a consensus five-star recruit, ranking as the No. 4 overall player and No. 2 athlete in the 2022 recruiting class according to the On3 industry ranking. 6-4 and 205 pounds at the time, Styles is the type of player whose upside was immense at a couple of different spots potentially.

It’s pretty easy to see why Notre Dame was so high on Styles coming out. It’s unfortunate that he isn’t making plays in the blue and gold, but he is still developing into one of the more dynamic linebackers in all of college football. Styles is a lot of fun to watch.