THE Ohio State BuckeyesThe defense completely flipped the script after the team’s tough loss to the Oregon Ducks, thanks to veteran leadership from the front seven.

One of the main contributors to this effort was linebacker Sonny Styleswho was recently named a semi-finalist for the highly acclaimed Butkus Award.

Styles, a former five-star safety turned linebacker, has been electric this season. The Ohio native has recorded 52 total tackles in 2024 while maintaining a defensive rating of 78.6, according to PFF. Although this is Styles’ first season at linebacker, he and longtime Buckeye Cody-Simon have formed a dynamic duo throughout the season.

The last time an Ohio State linebacker won the Butkus Award was in 2007 with James Laurinaitis. He was one of two former Buckeye linebackers to receive this award, with Andy Katzenmoyer winning it in 1997.

Named after Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus, the Butkus Prize “is one of the elite individual honors, originally awarded annually to one player in college football: the most influential linebacker in the game.” Many recipients of this prestigious award have gone on to incredible careers in the NFL, such as Eric Kendricks, Von Miller and Luke Kuechly.

Along with Styles, Iowa’s Jay Higgins and Indiana’s Aiden Fisher are the other two players to reach the Big Ten Conference semifinals. The talented Buckeyes linebacker will have four straight games in the month of November to bolster his chances of winning the award.