Courtesy of Laverna Styles
Sonny Styles with Ohio State football coach Ryan Day.
The Ohio State University is just 20 minutes away from Pickerington, but Alex “Sonny” Styles, consistently ranked as a five-star football recruit and the top safety across two national classes, says he would have traveled any distance to play for the Buckeyes.
“If I was anywhere else in the country I still probably would have ended up where I was going just because of the school and what it’s about,” Styles says. “They preach brotherhood, that’s something I really like.”
In December 2021, mid-way through his junior year, Styles arranged to meet the necessary graduation requirements a year early. This reclassification allowed him to commit to OSU a year ahead of schedule after helping Pickerington Central to a Division I regional runner-up finish in the OHSAA tournament. Now in the class of 2022, he’s planning on heading to the Buckeyes’ campus after his graduation in May.
OSU’s location close to home helped ease Styles’ decision to reclassify and graduate early.
“I don’t think I would have (reclassified) if I was going somewhere else, if I’m being honest, because I think that’s just a hard thing to do, to go to college as, like, a 17-year-old,” he says. “My parents have raised me the right way, so I think with my maturity level I’m ready.”
The 6-foot-4-inch, 215-pound safety says he’s excited to get to work and start training at the collegiate level.
“I just thought it was a great opportunity to just get there and get ahead,” he says. “Even if I’m not playing, I’m getting in the weight room, being able to compete with high-level players every single day.”
Styles, a high performer in the classroom as well as on the field, plans to study either exercise science or a broader field such as business.
In his junior, and now final, high school season, Styles had 55 tackles in 11 games. As a sophomore, he collected 33 tackles in just seven games and a team-high four interceptions.
Success on the football field runs in the family. Styles’ dad, Lorenzo Sr., who coached at Pickerington, also played for OSU before continuing to the NFL for six seasons and a Super Bowl championship with the St. Louis Rams. Styles’ brother, Lorenzo Jr., a Pickerington North graduate, plays for the University of Notre Dame as a wide receiver.
Playing at the highest level has always been in Styles’ sights. He recalls, at a young age, taking a permanent marker to the back of his bedroom door and writing, “I’m going to NFL.” Then, his dad’s Super Bowl ring and OSU glory days stories held the spotlight. Even out of football season, Styles now finds himself getting stopped for pictures and autographs after playing in his high school basketball games.
“It’s all a blessing, the opportunities I have and some of the natural abilities I was gifted with. Obviously, with me having the success I have with sports, there’s going to be a lot of attention that comes with that,” he says. “I know it’s there, but I try not to focus on that.”
Pickerington Central head football coach Jay Sharrett has high praise for Styles as a person and a player.
“Alex is a top-shelf individual with a level of athleticism that few young men have at his age,” says Sharrett. “Alex is very complementary complimentary of his teammates and very seldom speaks of his own accomplishments.”
Sharrett says Styles has the skills and physical type college programs look for, while also exceeding marks needed to succeed in higher education.
“Alex’s teammates and peers look to him for leadership and guidance during uncertain times,” says Sharrett. “Alex’s actions and decisions during these critical moments are to be commended. I feel these are rare characteristics for a young man, yet are a perfect description of Alex.”
As much as Styles is a standout, individually, he relishes being one part of the team.
“I think for me the biggest part is the team aspect, like just going to battle with your brothers,” he says. “I think that’s really what it is. I mean, football is a really physical sport. You’ve got four quarters of just, like, putting the pushing on each other, so it’s a battle. I think just to when you line up next to the guy you call your brother, I think that’s the greatest part of the game.”
Courtesy of Jamison Speidel
Claire Miller is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com
