Ohio State head coach Ryan Day recalls the time that he knew Sonny Styles was going to be special, it just happened to be the same day that he never played pick-up basketball again.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day thought back to the day that two very important things happened. The first was that he realized how athletic a young, eighth-grade Sonny Styles was, and the second was that he realized he was done playing pickup basketball for good.
On ESPN's "This is Football" Podcast with Kevin Clark, Day recalled the day that was his final time playing pick-up basketball ever. He was recruiting future Buckeye Lorenzo Styles Jr., and the Styles family was on campus.
14-year-old Sonny was with the family that day, and they found themselves on the basketball court, where Sonny rolled the ball out against the Buckeyes' head coach to play one-on-one.
Through a big smile, Day recalled saying that they checked it up and Sonny took two dribbles and dunked one down on Day. That was the last time that Day played basketball because he got jammed on by an eighth grader.
The plus side was that the eighth grader would become one of the best players in the history of Ohio State football.
That story, while mostly in jest, is a microcosm of what Sonny Styles is as a football player. His career was a windy road as he started at safety and reluctantly moved to the linebacker position, which turned out to be a natural fit.
Styles' athleticism stands out when he is on the field. He can get sideline to sideline in the blink of an eye, he can cover tight ends to wide receivers, and he can move better than just about anyone. More than that, when he gets to the point of contact, whether with the ball carrier or a lineman, he packs a punch with him.
None of that is even the best part of his game. Where Styles excels is between the ears. His football IQ is hard to comprehend sometimes. He is always in the right spot to make a play and often beats the ball carrier to the spot.
All of those things combined made him one of the best players in Ohio State history and have also made him a future top-10 draft pick as an off-ball linebacker.
Styles was impressive from the day that he ended Ryan Day's basketball career up until his final snaps as a Buckeye. He will take that to the next level, and if he reaches his potential, he is going to be one of the great linebackers to ever play the sport.
Day has had a front row seat to his career from the very beginning.
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