CFB Zeitgeist Score
74
Solid starter in the position cohort. Carried by tackles for loss at the 87th percentile.
Sonny Styles
Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.
83 TACKLES · 1 SACKS
Where He Ended Up · NFL
Washington2026 NFL rookie season
#7Rd 1 · Pick 7
Washington2026 NFL rookie season
LB · OHIO STATE · BIG TEN
Sonny Styles
- 4
- #6
- 6-4 | 243 lb
- Pickerington, OH
Heisman Heat
#3837
<1% win probability
Fan Belief
Awaiting
Player-specific FI not yet ingested. Falls back to team mood below.
Respect Gap
Awaiting
Coming online with player-level FI.
Reality Gap
Awaiting
Coming online with player-level FI.
ACCOLADE PROBABILITY
Heisman
<1%
TOP LB AWARD
Butkus
—
CONSENSUS
All-American
—
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 2 · StarterR07 · Impact starter
Impact starter. Producing measurable value above replacement.
Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career arc · Season-by-season Standing
3 seasons on the ladder
2022
Ohio State · LB
—
2023
Ohio State · LB
—
★
2025
Ohio State · LB
R12 · All-American
Elite
NFL Draft 2026 · Rd 1, Pick 7 · #7 overall · Washington
Career Arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★★
CFB
College
Ohio State
NFL
NFL Draft
R1 · #7
Identity & Role
The durable bio layer: position, size, hometown, and roster role.
Recruiting Pedigree
How big the prospect was before college, and whether the later career arc beat that expectation.
| Class | Profile | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 5-star | 0.9937 | No. 12 recruit | HighSchool | Ohio State |
Transfer Arc
Portal movement changes role, context, and perception. This keeps that path in one place.
| Season | Move | Context |
|---|---|---|
| No transfer portal moves on file for this player. | ||
Heisman Lens · 2024 Season · Final
Where the player landed at the end of the listed season — final nowcast rank, win/finalist/ballot probabilities, and the cleanest official Heisman placement on file.
HIGH CONFIDENCE· through week 16Heisman Futures
Not yet listed on major futures markets.
Achievements
- Honors Badge 0.7% Honors Badge Recognized on a major honors list (Heisman, All-American, Davey O'Brien, Maxwell, Walter Camp, Nagurski, Biletnikoff). Held by 0.7% of the 2025 pool. Recognized on: All-America (PFF).
Selector Grid · 2025
AP—
FWAA—
AFCA—
WCFF—
SN—
SI—
NIL · Recruiting · NFL Draft
Market value, pedigree & pro outcome
Recruit stars
★★★★★
to Ohio State
Composite
0.9937
#12 national
NFL Draft
2026 · Rd 1, Pick 7
#7 overall · Washington
Today’s Hot-Take
The Hot-Take engine fires when this player’s percentile profile crosses a defensible threshold (top 10% in a cohort, 100+ snap sample). When it’s quiet, the model is honoring its “must be defensible” rule.
Anti-Take
PENDINGThe contrarian read fires when the rules-engine detects a stat that complicates the Hot-Take. Quiet here means the model hasn’t found a defensible counter yet — not that one doesn’t exist.
The Room on Sonny Styles
Fan sentiment · Awaiting signal
The Room reads fan conversation around a player — who’s talking, what they believe, and how that shifts. It publishes once weekly volume rebuilds; for most players that’s in-season, when game-week chatter spikes.
Cohort divergence map
Cohort divergence reads how different fanbases talk about this player. Returns once weekly mentions clear the publish floor.
Rival Radar
How rival fanbases talk about Sonny Styles
No rival-bucket mentions in the current season.
Signature Story
Awaiting candidate metric
He hasn't written his page yet — we'll start filling it in when there are enough snaps to rank against his peers.
Signature Moment
No signature moment on the ledger yet.
Returns once this player puts together a multi-game body of work — single-game flashes alone don't clear the bar.
Season Pace · Projection
Where the defensive totals stand
Through 14g
83Tackles
6.5Tackles for loss
1Sacks
Per game
6Tackles
0.5Tackles for loss
0.1Sacks
Final
83Tackles
6.5Tackles for loss
1Sacks
✓ Hit 80-tackle season · finished with 83.
Why this is a rare defensive case
The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.
Sonny Styles is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Ohio State's defense, with 1.0 sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss, and 1 interceptions through the current loaded season. For a defender, the question is never just production; it is whether elite disruption and team context can become nationally undeniable.
2025 Season · Final
Traditional stats first. Advanced context underneath.
Last season
DEF season snapshot
2025 season snapshot | final
2025 season snapshot | finalData: CFBD player stats + local Heisman modelPeer context: same position + same level
Player identity What kind of player is this?
30-second read
What kind of player is this?
High-disruption defender | High-volume tackler against FBS defenders.
2025 Season · Final
2025 season snapshot | final
Tackling & Disruption
TOT
83 98th
SOLO
46 98th
TFL
6.5 93rd
SACK
1.0 82nd
QBH
4 85th
Coverage & Takeaways
PD
3 76th
INT
1 65th
Game Log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 14 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 14-7vs Texas | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 70-0vs Grambling | 3 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 37-9vs Ohio | 6 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 24-6@ Washington | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 42-3vs Minnesota | 8 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 34-16@ Illinois | 10 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 34-0@ Wisconsin | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 38-14vs Penn State | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 11 | W 34-10@ Purdue | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 12 | W 48-10vs UCLA | 7 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 42-9vs Rutgers | 5 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 14 | W 27-9@ Michigan | 6 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 15 | L 10-13vs Indiana | 12 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 12 tackles |
| Bowl | L 14-24vs Miami | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 83 | 46 | 6.5 | 1.0 | 1 | 3 |
Season-by-season tables Career rows + per-season box score
Traditional history
Traditional Stats
Season rows up top, career context at the bottom.
Season context · Team result + system
2022Ohio State11-2HC: Ryan Day · Balanced
2023Ohio State11-2HC: Ryan Day · Balanced
2025Ohio State12-2HC: Ryan Day · Run-leaning
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Ohio State | 83 | 46 | 6.5 | 1.0 | 3 | 1 | -- |
| 2023 | Ohio State | 53 | 32 | 4.5 | 2.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2022 | Ohio State | 7 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 3 loaded seasons | 143 | 82 | 12.0 | 3.0 | 4 | 1 | -- |
Advanced layer Usage, value, and context
Advanced metrics second
Advanced Metrics
Usage, value, and opponent-adjusted context.
TFL, sacks, and QB hurries are grouped together because defensive Heisman cases are usually built on visible havoc, not on tackle counts alone.
Pass breakups, interceptions, and forced fumbles matter because national awards voters respond to plays that change possessions and highlight reels.
Every percentile is compared against players at the same position and level, so an FBS quarterback is judged against FBS quarterbacks, not the whole sport.
The top tables stick to the stats fans already know from broadcasts and box scores. Advanced context is pushed underneath instead of replacing the basics.
Open full stat explorer
| Group | Metric | Value | Rank | Pct | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defense | Total tackles | 83 | #124/4942 | 98th pct | Volumevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | TFL | 6.5 | #340/4972 | 93rd pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Sacks | 1.0 | #872/4972 | 82nd pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Interceptions | 1 | #308/869 | 65th pct | Takeawaysvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Pass breakups | 3 | #521/2184 | 76th pct | Coveragevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | QB hurries | 4 | #291/1878 | 85th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Solo tackles | 46 | #113/4584 | 98th pct | Volumevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | INT return avg | 5.0 | #432/578 | 25th pct | Takeawaysvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | INT return yards | 5 | #459/578 | 21st pct | Takeawaysvs FBS DEF |
Player Standing
Universal 17-step ladder. Tier pills below; accolade streams nested.
ALL-AMERICAN
On-team2-deepStartingRecognizedEliteApex
ALL-AMERICAN · Rung 12 of 16
Why he’s here
All-American — named 1st team by at least one NCAA-recognized selector.
What moves him up
Add selectors to reach Consensus (3 of 5).
What moves him down
Lose the selector and this slips to national-watch territory.
Accolade streams
1st-team selections2×1ST
First-team selections from 2 selectors.
AP—
FWAA—
AFCA—
WCFF—
SN1st
SI—
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 14 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home9g | 6.0 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Road5g | 5.8 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
Win vs Loss
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins12g | 5.8 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Losses2g | 7.0 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 5.7 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+7g | 6.1 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.
Savant · Box-rate percentiles
Where this profile ranks vs the LB cohort
74Solid starter
Elite: solo tackles (95th). Strength: tackles (95th).
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Advanced Savant · LB · 2024
Percentile Card
Advanced opponent-adjusted percentile bars are coming soon for this player.
P4G5All FBS
Advanced Savant
Opponent-adjusted advanced metrics with a cohort filter.
Advanced opponent-adjusted metrics are coming soon for this player. Selected cohort: P4.
Peer Comparator · Fingerprint match
Three closest profiles by box-rate percentile
Sonny StylesOhio StateTrey FieldsNorth Texas· 95% simBryce BoettcherOregon· 94% simJaylen WesterWestern Kentucky· 93% sim
Solo tackles
Tackles
QB hurries
Tackles for loss
Passes defended
Sacks
Interceptions
Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.
Player DNA
The Every-Down Linebacker
Leads the team in tackles and rarely leaves the field.
LB
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Jaheim Thomas’s 2023 season.
Jaheim Thomas
82%match
#2
Mariano Sori-Marin
All-Big Ten
81%
#3
Brayden Johnson
80%
#4
Aaron Hansford
80%
#5
Mariano Sori-Marin
80%
Matches Jaheim on
Tackle volume
TFL rate
Sack rate
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Jaheim Thomas's senior season at Arkansas (2023).
Jaheim Thomas
87%match
#2
Geoff Cantin-Arku
85%
#3
AJ Vongphachanh
85%
#4
Marco Notarainni
All-Mountain West
84%
#5
Shae Suiaunoa
All-Mountain West
81%
Matches Jaheim on
Weight
TFL rate
PD rate
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Ryan Day
Pass share
47.0%
408 pass / 461 run
Plays / game
62.1
14 games
OL sack rate (allowed)
4.9%
267 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Coaching Lineage · 2022–2025
1 coach2022
Ryan Day
Ohio State
2023
Ryan Day
Ohio State
2025
Ryan Day
Ohio State
Played his entire career under Ryan Day.
Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster
Off-field context — switch tabs to drill into recruit profile, transfer arc, or roster timeline.
HometownPickerington, OH
Height6'4"
Weight243 lb
Class4
PositionLB
Jersey6
No fields populated yet.
No fields populated yet.
Current teamOhio State
ConferenceBig Ten
Joined2025
Career arc4 season(s)
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🥇
ALL-AMERICA
Named All-American (2025)
2 selectors honored him
🎖
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2025)
All-Big Ten
Trophy Case · Detail
Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.
2 All-America selections
National selector recognition is one of the strongest non-Heisman signals on a player card and should sit near the top of the showcase.
2 all-conference honors
Conference-level recognition helps anchor whether a player is merely statistically loud or actually viewed as elite within his competitive lane.
Honors Timeline
Season-end distinction and week-by-week recognition on one timeline.
| Season | Honor | Scope | Team / Selector | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | All-America (PFF) | all_america | PFF | LB |
| 2025 | All-America (SN) | all_america | SN | LB |
| 2025 | All-Big Ten | all_conference | Ohio State | Big Ten | LB |
| 2024 | All-Big Ten | all_conference | Ohio State | Big Ten | LB |
Heisman By Year
Modeled rank and official finish by season.
| Season | Team | Role | Latest Model | Forecast | Win | Finalist | Official Finish | Points | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Ohio State | LB4 | #3837 | #3448 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W16 snapshot | Big Ten |
| 2023 | Ohio State | LB4 | #2411 | #2391 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W19 snapshot | Big Ten |
| 2022 | Ohio State | LB4 | #3995 | #3697 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W20 snapshot | Big Ten |
Roster Timeline
Team, conference, and class by season.
| Season | Team | Conference | Pos | Class | Bio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Ohio State | Big Ten | LB | 4 | No. 6 | 6-4 | 243 lb | Pickerington, OH |
| 2024 | Ohio State | Big Ten | LB | 4 | No. 6 | 6-4 | 243 lb | Pickerington, OH |
| 2023 | Ohio State | Big Ten | LB | 4 | No. 6 | 6-4 | 243 lb | Pickerington, OH |
| 2022 | Ohio State | Big Ten | LB | 4 | No. 6 | 6-4 | 243 lb | Pickerington, OH |